THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


PRESTON  PAPERS 


BY 

MISS    PRESTON'S   ASSISTANT. 

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PUBLISHER  : 

WILLIAM   H.  BRIGGS, 

TREAS.  LAWYER'S  CO-OPERATIVE  PUBLISHING  Co. 
ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


y+5 


COPYRIGHTED  1890, 
BY  WILLIAM  H.  BRIGGS. 


E.  R.  ANDREWS,  PRINTER, 
ROCHESTER,   N.  Y. 


DEDICATION. 

To  my  dear  old  pupils,  who  for  so  many  years  have 
walked  hand  in  hand  with  me,  and  especially  to  such  of 
them  as  are  now  engaged  in  teaching  or  in  preparing  them- 
selves for  this  delightful  work,  this  little  volume  is  most 
affectionately  dedicated,  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFATORY. 

Pausing  at  the  threshold  of  perpetuating  in  covers  these 
"  PRESTON  PAPERS,"  the  author  desires  to  say  that  Miss 
Preston  is  no  ideal  teacher,  but  one  well  known  to  both 
publishers  and  author,  as  a  bona  fide  teacher  who  still  lives, 
works,  and  enjoys  her  work,  with  a  zest  unknown  to 
mere  "  machine  "  teachers.  The  experiences  are  real  and 
possibly  not  unusual,  and  are  offered  to  the  pedagogical 
fraternity  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  suggestive  of  a 
"  Beyond  "  in  the  work. 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


CONTENTS. 


No.  i. —  GOVERNMENT. 

Asking  advice  —  Miss  Preston — Her  notions — Rudeness 
—  Legitimate  noise — Machine  Work — Monitors  —  Self  Re- 
spect —  Injury  to  —  A  simile  —  Management  during  teacher's 
absence  —  Order  —  How  secured  —  Its  object  —  Queries. 

No.  2. —  REPORTS.       - 

Teachers'  meeting  in  Old  town  —  Obligation  to  be  present  — 
Reports  outlined  —  The  routine  — Variations  —  Miss  Preston's 
first  attendance  —  She  gives  no  report  —  Her  reason  —  My 
own  report  —  Tricks  in  trade  —  Miss  Preston's  absence  from 
October  meeting — Her  note  —  Its  effect  —  Asked  to  preside 
at  next  session  —  Takes  her  school  to  the  woods  —  Lessons 
learned  by  the  way  —  Compositions  elicited  therefrom  —  Her 
address  to  the  meeting  —  What  the  meeting  should  develop — 
Her  conduct  of  it  —  Enthusiasm. 


No.  3. —  PUNISHMENT.          -  -  -     14 

The  "class  meeting"  method —  Mr.  W hippie's  doubt  as  to 
the  right  to  use  the  rod — Miss  Wood's  fear  of  personal  con- 
sequences—  Her  lack  of  "presence" — Mr.  Smith's  declara- 
tion —  Outwitted  by  his  botany  class  —  Politics  in  education — 
Miss  Sigourney — Tyranny  —  Responsibility  for  rebellion  — 
Brutalizing  effects  of  corporal  punishment  —  Character  ex- 
pressed in  physique  —  Ridicule  and  sarcasm  —  Miss  Preston's 
speech  —  Corporal  punishment  may  be  preferred  to  mental. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

No.  4. —  PUNISHMENT.     (Continued).  -        -         -     19 

Troublesome  children  —  Spoiled  and  neglected  —  How  to 
manage  —  Upon  what  punishment  should  depend  —  Some 
things  in  pupils  for  which  teachers  are  blamable  —  Govern- 
ment of  bad  children  —  Negative  and  positive  —  Corporal  — 
How  to  be  administered  —  J.  G.  Holland's  story  of  a  bad  boy. 

No.  5. —  THE  MUSEUM.       ...  .     23 

As  a  help  —  Miss  Preston's  choice  of  aid  —  Indifference  of 
her  associates  —  The  closet  transformed — Nicknames — The 
Museum  opened  to  the  school  —  Contributions  —  Effects  noted 

—  Total  depravity  —  Miss  Wood's  remonstrance  —  The  reply 

—  Salary  —  Details. 

No.  6. —  RESPONSIBILITY.     -  -     29 

Schoolrooms  —  How  to  be  kept  —  Demand  for  curtains, 
thermometer,  and  waste  paper  basket  —  Reasons  —  Cleanli- 
ness—  Habits  —  Apparent  indifference  of  teachers  explained 

—  A  teacher's  duties  —  Where  end  —  Other  people  —  A  newly 
furnished  schoolroom  —  Plants  and  pictures. 

No.  7. —  GEOGRAPHY.  -  -     34 

Taught  in  all  grades  —  Too  much  time  spent  upon  it  — 
Made  too  important  —  To  be  taught  incidentally —  Too  much 
"book"  work  —  Visit  to  a  summer  school  —  Parrot-like  reci- 
tations—  Confusion  of  ideas  —  Miss  Preston's  plan — "Want 
of  time  "  plea  —  Queries  suggested. 

No.  8. —  TEACHERS'  EXAMINATIONS.  -         -         -         -     4o 

How  they  were  formerly  conducted  in  Oldtown  —  Miss 
Preston  investigates — Her  dissatisfaction  —  Defects  pointed 
out  —  The  best  method  suggested  —  Separate  examinations  for 
teachers  of  different  grades  —  Fitness  considered. 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE. 

No.  9. —  PRIZE  GIVING.       -  -     45 

As  a  stimulus  —  Objections  —  As  being  "less  trouble" — 
Shirking  responsibilities  —  Comparisons  —  Results  of  prize 
winning  —  Examples  —  Love  not  gained  by  this  means  — 
"Right  for  Right's  sake" — Instead  of  prizes,  what?  —  Dis- 
tinctions made — A  Christmas  plan  —  How  it  worked  —  Asso- 
ciation with  pupils. 

No.  10. —  NUMBER.      -  -  -     51 

The  first  object  —  Pestalozzi's  laws  —  Specific  steps  — 
Counting — Teaching  relative  worth  of  numbers — The  fun- 
damental processes  taught  together  —  Caution  —  Study  in- 
volved in  thorough  teaching  —  Results. 

No.  n. —  PRIMARY  ARITHMETIC.  -        -     56 

My  trouble  —  Miss  Preston's  help  —  Her  dialogue  with 
Henry  —  Subtraction  —  Illustration  —  Catching  the  fire  — 
Compound  numbers — Enthusiasm  —  Order  —  Counting  back- 
ward —  Devices. 

No.  12. —  COMPOSITIONS.     -  -  -     61 

Dread  of  the  work  —  Mr.  Lowell's  method  —  Miss  Wood's 

—  Miss  Well's  —  Plagiarism  —  Too  much  formality  in  compo- 
sition writing  —  Occasion  leads  up  to  method  —  Suggestions — 
Current  events  and  topics  fruitful  themes  —  Finishing  up  the 
work. 

No.  13. —  MANAGEMENT.     -  -66 

Promotion  of  educational  interests  —  Causes  of  success  — 
Discipline  —  Dignity  —  Rules  enforced  —  CoSperation  —  An 
experience  —  A  school  reception  proposed  —  Laughed  at  — 
Complaint  —  Invitations  —  A  success  —  Meeting  the  parents 

—  Trustees  —  Calls  among  pupils  —  Success  compensatory  and 
commensurate. 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

No.  14. —  ENVIRONMENT.     -  -     71 

A  teacher's  opportunities  —  Our  school  yard  —  Its  former 
appearance  —  Saving  lunch  ' '  scraps  " —  Use  —  Clearing  up  the 
yard  —  The  vase  —  Filling  it  —  The  rockery  —  Geranium  bank 

—  Croquet  asked  for — Received  —  Miss  Preston's  promotion. 

No.  15. —  HEALTH.      -  -  -     75 

An  unusual  topic  —  The  educational  "world  does  move" — 
Time  —  How  to  be  measured  —  Soliloquy  —  Why  make  the 
most  of  our  physical  nature  —  To  promote  our  own  interests 

—  As  a  self  duty  —  Carlyle's  law  of  culture — Mr.  Wheeler's 
motive  —  Miss  Wood  considers  it  economical  to  keep  well  —  So 
do  I  —  Miss  Smith  declares  her  independence  by  her  good 
health  —  The  prime  "why" — Teachers  specially  responsible 

—  Time  lost  by  sickness. 

No.  16. —  HEALTH.     (Continued).       -  -     81 

Breathing  —  Ignorance  as  to  how  — Wrong  breathing  —  Eat- 
ing —  Too  much  —  Too  often  —  Wrong  things  —  Miss  Miller's 
inquiry  —  Eating  between  meals  —  Rest  —  What  is  —  Danger 
in  "too  much"  of  anything  —  Tonics  and  narcotics — Dress 

—  Good  nature  a  help —  Hints  formulated. 

No.  17. —  GRAMMAR.  ......    86 

The  trouble  begun  —  A  peculiar  man  —  Visits  Miss  Pres- 
ton's school  —  Favorable  impressions  —  Wishes  to  send  his 
daughter — His  home  methods  —  Objections  to  the  public 
school  system  —  Cast  iron  rules  —  Katharine  comes  to  our 
school  —  Asks  a  question  in  grammar  —  Referred  to  the  text 
book  —  A  note  from  the  Colonel  —  What  it  would  have  elicited 
formerly  —  Reasoning  —  My  reply  to  the  note  —  Appeal  to  the 
Board  of  Education  —  Arguments  —  The  moral  side  of  gram- 
mar —  Objections  to  discussion  —  Miss  Bates  infatuated  by  the 
method  of  her  childhood  —  Miss  Ingersoll's  criticism  —  Mr. 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE. 

Lowell's  dread  of  the  subject — Miss  Wood's  experience  — 
Undoing — "  The  course" — A  "  Balm  in  Gilead." 

No.  18. —  GRAMMAR.     (Continued.)     -  -        -     93 

Teaching  by  practice  —  A  new  way  —  Process  —  Text  books 

—  How  used  —  Time  and  dread  saved  in  this  way  —  Illustra- 
tion of  Miss  Preston's  method. 

No.  19. —  WHISPERING.  -        -    98 

A  great  evil  —  Contrary  opinions  —  Restrictions  —  Fair  play 

—  Provisions  and  reasons  for  whispering  —  Obedience  —  Con- 
secutive thinking  —  Principles  developing  fair  thought  on  the 
subject  —  Regulations. 

No.  20. —  MANNERS.    -  -  103 

A  bow  —  Politeness  among  pupils  —  Rudeness  —  Miss  Pres- 
ton's explanation  —  Lack  of  mutual  understanding  —  Civility 

—  Teaching  it  in  school  —  Necessity  for  —  Where  to  begin  — 
Selfishness  the  basis  of  rudeness  —  Tact,  an  element  of  cour- 
tesy —  The  Golden  Rule  a  guide  —  Specific  lessons  needed 
in  deportment  —  Instances  —  Courtesy  as  capital  —  Force  of 
example. 

No.  21. —  DRESS.  -         -  109 

Inattention  to  the  matter —  A  contrast — Early  impressions 

—  Professor  Lowell's  experience  —  A  pink  dress  —  Its  influ- 
ence—  Commercial  value  of  tasteful  attire  —  What  to  wear  — 
The  silent  influence. 

No.  22. —  PENMANSHIP.  -  114 

Agitation  of  the  subject  —  Mothers  in  council  —  Criticisms 

—  Rapidity — How,  generally  —  How  and  when  to  begin  — 
Tools  used  —  Variations. 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

No.  23. —  PENMANSHIP.     (Continued.)          -  -   118 

Copy  —  Talks  with  pupils  —  Steps  —  Classification  —  Books 

—  Work  —  Advanced  classes  —  Scribbling  —  All  may  learn  to 
write  well. 

No.  24. —  OVERWORK.          -  -  122 

Teachers  and  pupils  overtasked  —  Too  long  hours  —  Bad 
results — A  lazy  teacher — Too  much  attempted  —  The  cur- 
riculum —  Mistakes  —  Our  responsibility  —  A  student's  life  — 
Suggestions  —  Overwork  out  of  school. 

No.  25. —  SPELLING.    -  -  -  128 

A  spelling  school  —  How  managed  —  Teacher  spells  against 
pupils  — Written  work  —  Review  —  Lesson  routine  — Ambigu 
ous  penmanship  —  Accuracy  —  Spelling  taught  with  other  les- 
sons —  Other  ways. 

No.  26. — READING.     ...  .  132 

Neglected  —  Poor  reading  prevalent  —  Teachers  to  be  mod- 
els —  Drawling  —  Reading  backwards  —  Sight  reading  — 
Rapid  —  Concert  —  Outside  supplies  —  Interest  — Word  hunt- 
ing—  Dropping  out  words —  Trial  reading — Practice  needed 

—  Silent   reading  —  Expression  —  Modern   reading   books  — 
Where  some  bad  habits  begin. 

No.  27. —  HOBBIES.      ...        -  -  138 

System  —  Dignity  —  Getting  down  to  the  child's  level  — 
Doing  too  much  —  Discipline  —  Good  and  bad  —  Shams  — 
Appearances  —  Laziness  —  Order  —  Selfishness  —  Independ- 
ence —  Practicality  —  Beauty  —  Custom  —  Change  —  Loss  of 
individuality — Lecturing  —  Proneness  of  the  pedagogue  to 
speak —  Menace  —  W_akness  of  threats —  Substitutes  —  Sug- 
gestions. 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  I. 
GOVERNMENT. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  February  25,  188- 
MR. ,  State  Supt. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  State  Superintendents  are  supposed  to 
be  a  sort  of  walking  storehouse  of  knowledge,  aren't  they  ? 
Presuming  your  answer  will  be  an  unqualified  "Yes,"  I  will 
proceed  to  state  the  cause  of  my  bewilderment.  It  may  be 
that  you  or  some  of  your  associates  can  give  me  light  from 
your  lamp  without  diminishing  your  own  benefit  from  it. 
Do  not  laugh  at  me  for  not  being  able  to  solve  my  problems 
alone. 

To  be  brief,  I  am  engaged  as  second  assistant  in  Public 
School  No.  4,  where  I  have  served  for  twenty-one  years ;  so 
I  think  I  know  some  things  about  its  requirements  quite  as 
well  as  the  lady  principal  does  who  has  only  been  here  since 
September,  and  is  very  young,  and  can  have  had  but  little 
experience  compared  to  mine.  And  here  my  puzzle  begins. 

Our  schools  are  all  under  the  supervision  of  a  superin- 
tendent who  has  held  the  position  a  great  many  years,  and 
they  have  borne  the  reputation  of  being  model  schools,  with 


2  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

perfect  order  and  discipline,  but  since  Miss  Preston  came 
( There !  I  have  actually  told  you  her  name,  although  I  did 
not  mean  to)  we  have  been  candidly  informed  by  her  that 
we  were  "  stultifying  the  children,  and  making  mere  puppets 
of  them  !  "  Just  think  of  it !  And  she  has  such  peculiar 
ideas,  too,  and  she  carries  them  out  in  spite  of  Mr.  Johnson 
— our  city  superintendent — who  really  opposed  her  methods 
at  first,  although  I  must  acknowledge  that  he  rather  recom- 
mends them  now.  For  instance:  she  had  not  been  installed 
but  a  few  days  before  he  said  to  her : 

"  Miss  Preston,  your  school  is  too  noisy  " 

"  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  it  is  too  noisy  ? "  with  a 
quiet  but  forceful  emphasis  on  the  last  two  words. 

"  Yes.  Oh,  I  don't  mean  in  the  schoolroom  They  seem 
to  be  quiet  enough  here  ;  but  at  their  play  before  school  and 
during  recess." 

"  Well,  so  long  as  they  are  quiet  and  orderly  in  the  house, 
it  seems  to  me  perfectly  proper  for  them  to  use  their  lungs 
for  safety  valves,  through  which  to  get  rid  of  their  super- 
fluous steam,  while  out  of  doors  —  provided  that  they  keep 
good  natured  and  use  no  bad  words." 

"  This  is  a  quiet  little  city  and  the  people  will  complain  if 
the  school  children  are  rude  and  noisy." 

"Rudeness  I  do  not  tolerate,"  said  she,  "but  legitimate 
noise  is  another  and  a  very  different  thing.  If  entirely  shut 
up  there  is  always  danger  of  an  explosion;  so  I  prefer  to 
encourage  them  to  dispose  of  their  excessive  vitality  in  that 
way,  at  proper  times,  rather  than  risk  its  operation,  to  their 
disadvantage  and  my  own,  during  study  hours ;  and  we  can 
hardly  expect  two  or  three  hundred  boys  and  girls  to  be  out 
in  the  street  or  a  7  x  9  yard  and  not  make  a  noise." 


MONITORS.  3 

She  spcke  very  decidedly ;  and  he  looked,  as  he  doubtless 
felt,  perfectly  aghast  that  his  opinion  should  be  even  ques- 
tioned, much  less  entirely  disregarded.  And  no  wonder,  for 
during  all  these  years  not  a  dissenting  voice  has  been  heard 
in  objection  to  anything  he  has  done  or  proposed  doing — for 
which  fealty  Miss  Preston  is  pleased  to  say  :  "  His  teachers 
have  grown  to  be  mere  machines,  and  the  work  done  by 
them  machine  work,  and  very  poor  at  that." 

Well,  he  actually  passed  that  over  without  a  word,  although 
I  fully  expected  that  she  would  be  summarily  dismissed 
"for  insubordination" — as  two  ladies  were  at  one  time  in 
Oswego. 

He  did  not  come  near  our  school  again  for  a  whole  week, 
although  his  coming  to  settle  difficulties  used  to  be  of 
frequent  occurrence  under  the  former  dispensations;  but 
when  he  made  his  next  appearance  they  had  another  "  little 
unpleasantness."  She  had  gone  down  stairs  to  assist  one 
of  the  second  grade  teachers  out  of  a  momentary  trouble, 
and  on  her  return  Miss  Preston  found  Mr.  Johnson  doing 
sentinel  duty  at  her  desk. 

"  Do  you  consider  it  conducive  to  good  order,  Miss  Pres- 
ton, to  leave  your  school  without  a  monitor?" 

"  Much  more  so  than  it  would  be  to  encourage  tattling 
personal  spite,  revenge,  etc.,  by  having  one." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? " 

"Simply  this:  their  self-respect  is  injured  by  being 
watched  as  if  they  were  criminals,  by  spies  or  detectives 
appointed  for  that  purpose.  Self-respect  is  the  basis  of 
all  self-government,  which  is  the  only  true  government  for 
children  and  youth  ,  and  just  in  proportion  as  we  injure  or 
destroy  that  fundamental  element  of  real  order,  we  create 


4  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

the  very  faults  we  are  seeking  to  eradicate.  To  rob  a  child 
of  its  self-respect  is  like  removing  the  mainspring  from  a 
watch;  and  the  constant  looking  for  faults  will  soon  give 
occasion  that  we  shall  not  look  in  vain,  for  by  that  very 
means  we  are  planting  and  cultivating  the  seeds  we  most 
earnestly  wish  rooted  out,  and  we  come  to  be  looked  upon 
as  the  natural  enemy  of  the  children  whom  we  really  love 
and  honestly  wish  to  benefit." 

"  How,  then,  would  you  manage  such  a  roomful  when- 
ever you  find  it  necessary  to  leave  them  for  a  time  by 
themselves  ?  " 

"  I  don't  intend  to  leave  such  young  children  alone  much, 
of  course,  as  mischief  would  inevitably  ensue  among  so 
large  a  number ;  but  when  I  must,  I  sometimes  say :  '  Now, 
children,  be  careful  not  to  waste  any  time  while  I  am  gone, 
and  watch  yourselves  ;  then  when  I  come  back  perhaps  you 
may  tell  me  if  you  do  anything  you  ought  not  to.'  ' 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  say  that  they  will  tell  of  themselves  ?  " 
he  asked,  a  trifle  incredulously. 

"  Certainly ;  after  a  little  education  in  that  direction  they 
much  prefer,  as  a  rule,  to  confess  their  own  faults,  rather 
than  have  some  one  else  do  so  for  them." 

"  I  see  that  they  do  not  all  sit  in  a  straight  line.  That 
will  never  do.  Order  must  be  preserved." 

"Certainly  it  must.  But  what  is  order?  If  they  were 
candles,  now,  and  had  all  been  run  in  one  mold,  we  might 
set  them  up  regularly  at  just  such  an  angle,  and  require 
them  to  stay  'fixed'  the  entire  twenty-four  hours  without 
any  compunctions  of  conscience;  but  as  they  are  human 
beings,  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  a  slight  variation  of 
position  now  and  then  will  be  found  acceptable  to  the  tired 


ORDER,  5 

muscles  ;  and  I  think  that  in  the  long  run  the  very  best 
order  is  secured  by  giving  them  a  little  less  military  drill 
and  a  trifle  more  latitude  as  to  position,  besides  rendering, 
ourselves  less  liable  to  be  held  amenable  to  the  law  that 
provides  'for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children.'  " 

"  Why,  there  is  a  little  boy  actually  swinging  his  feet  in 
school  time !  " 

"  And  why  not,  pray  ?  He  is  very  intent  upon  getting  his 
lesson  —  and  at  the  same  time  he  is  quite  careful  not  to- 
make  a  noise.  So  long  as  it  does  not  disturb  any  one 
else  and  interferes  with  nobody's  equal  rights,  I  would  not 
rebuke  it." 

"  But  it  looks  badly >  and  gives  your  school  the  appearance 
of  being  disorderly." 

"  Conceded  ;  and  we  are  told  to  avoid  even  the  appear- 
ance of  evil,"  said  she,  cheerfully.  "  But  in  this  case,  I  'd 
prefer  taking  my  chances  on  the  appearance  of  it,  rather 
than  on  the  evil  itself.  There  are  forces  constantly  at  work 
within  us  that  tend  toward  the  discovery  of  the  principle  of 
perpetual  motion,  and  they  can  hardly  be  repressed  in  a 
healthy  child  without  serious  physical  injury.  The  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number  is  the  object  I  desire  to  secure,. 
even  if  done  at  the  expense  of  my  reputation  as  a  disciplin- 
arian. Besides,  I  am  not  quite  convinced  that  geometric 
regularity  of  position  is  the  highest  type  of  order,"  etc.,, 
etc.,  etc. 

Now,  Mr.  Superintendent,  what  will  be  the  result  of  these 
and  like  heresies  ?  —  for  this  is  only  a  tithe,  she  warmly 
declaring  that  we  are  "  in  the  rut  "  and  that  she  will  resign 
her  position  before  she  will  allow  herself  to  be  driven  into 
it.  At  first  I  was  horrified,  and  I  still  fail  to  understand 


6  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

some  of  her  startling  theories.  Will  you  bring  the  com- 
bined wisdom  of  yourself  and  your  intelligent  associates  to 
my  assistance  ?  Is  she  living  in  advance  of  the  age,  or  are 
we  away  down  here  a  little  bit  backward  and  ante-diluvian  ? 
I  am  candid  in  wishing  to  know  the  best  ways,  and  maybe 
we  have  become  a  little  "  set  "  in  our  methods. 

If  you  please,  I  wish  to  tell  you  sometime  about  her  ideas 
of  corporal  punishment  as  preferred  to  some  others,  that  is 
if  you  wish  to  hear  again  from 

Yours,  in  the  common  cause, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


KEPOKTS. 


No.  11. 
REPORTS. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  March  13,  188-. 
MR. ,  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir : — Your  very  kind  reply  to  my  recent  recital 
was  duly  received,  and  contents  fully  noted  —  and  having 
really  determined  to  unburden  myself  of  my  difficulties  I 
scarcely  know  where  to  begin.  Should  I  fail  to  find  a  stop- 
ping place,  you  will  please  insert  a  period  wherever  you 
deem  it  proper,  and  I  will  take  the  hint. 

I  think  I  will  begin  with  a  sketch  of  our  teachers'  meeting 
for  November,  although  the  vexed  question  of  corporal 
punishment  was  not  discussed  until  the  December  meeting. 
But  of  that  anon. 

We  have  always  held  our  teachers'  meetings  on  the  third 
Saturday  of  each  month.  No  one  is  obliged  to  be  present, 
although  all  are  expected  to.  After  the  opening  exercises 
the  roll  is  called  and  each  teacher  responds  by  reading  his 
or  her  "  Monthly  Report,"  which  is  about  as  follows : 

Number  of  boys  enrolled.     Girls,  ditto.     Total. 

Average  age  of  boys.     Ditto,  girls.     Total. 

Average  attendance  of  boys.     Ditto,  girls.     Total. 

Cases  of  tardiness  among  boys.     Ditto,  girls.     Total. 

Time  (given  in  hours  and  minutes)  lost  by  tardiness 
among  boys.  Ditto,  girls.  Total. 


S  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

Number  of  absences  among  boys.     Ditto,  girls.     Total. 

Absences  excused  among  boys.     Ditto,  girls.     Total. 

Lessons  lost  by  absence  and  tardiness  among  boys.  Ditto, 
girls.  Total. 

Names  and  number  of  classes  taught,  with  the  average 
per  cent  of  scholarship  for  each  class. 

Now  was  not  that  systematic  ? 

After  a  few  remarks  from  the  Chair  —  our  superintendent 
-always  held  that  office  —  in  which  he  generally  thinks  "we 
are  getting  along  comfortably,"  and  "  hopes  we  realize  our 
responsibilities  and  will  do  our  duty  "  in  a  very  calm  and 
dignified  manner,  we  are  dismissed.  This  has  been  the 
routine  for  many  years,  and  it  stands  to  reason  that  the 
"  Reports  "  are  beneficial,  else  why  should  we  have  them  ? 

Occasionally  the  meetings  have  been  varied  by  the  pres- 
ence of  one  or  more  members  of  the  board  of  education, 
who  would  pat  us  on  the  back,  as  it  were,  in  some  set  phrase 
•when  called  upon  to  address  the  meeting. 

Well,  Miss  Preston  was  present  at  the  September  session, 
but  she  did  not  take  any  part  —  simply  saying  when  her 
name  was  called  that  she  "  had  not  prepared  any  report,  and 
she  did  not  as  yet  see  the  advantage  of  taking  such  a  census 
every  month." 

You  ought  to  have  seen  the  significant  looks  among  the 
teachers  as  Mr.  Johnson  replied,  with  a  rather  red  face : 
""It  has  the  advantage  of  showing  at  a  glance  just  where  we 
stand." 

"  Very  likely,"  she  responded  rather  dryly,  "  but  I  fail  to 
see,  myself,  how  the  number  of  boys  or  girls,  or  both,  in 
School  No.  9,  can  affect  my  own ;  or  how  the  knowledge  of 
their  average  age  or  scholarship  can  benefit  my  pupils." 


TRICKS  IN  REPORTS.  g 

"Well,  well,  we  won't  discuss  it  now,"  he  said,  more  testily 
than  real  politeness  would  countenance.  "The  secretary 
will  please  call  the  next  name." 

As  that  happened  to  be  my  own,  I  arose  and  read  the 
report  over  which  I  had  spent  all  the  previous  evening  and 
a  good  share  of  Saturday  morning.  I  had  done  so  every 
month  for  years,  but  somehow  its  importance  now  faded 
from  my  mind ;  and  I  wondered,  while  reading  it,  if  Mr. 
Johnson  really  thought  these  "  reports  "  are  accurate.  Of 
course  "  There  are  tricks  in  all  trades  but  ours,"  but  I  will 
tell  you  confidentially  that  this  system  has  been  made  the 
excuse  for  some  false  entries.  Bad  book-keeping  is  not 
entirely  confined  to  county  treasurers  and  bank  cashiers. 
Miss  Young,  for  instance,  may  not  want  to  have  it  appear 
that  the  standard  of  her  school  is  lower  than  that  of  some 
one  else,  so  she  does  not  always  record  the  absence  or  tardi- 
ness; or  if  she  does,  the  temptation  is  to  diminish  the  time 
so  lost.  Perhaps  Mr.  Brown  would  give  us  the  impression 
that  his  methods  of  instruction  are  rather  superior  ;  hence, 
his  pupils  are  sometimes  reported  higher  in  scholarship  than 
they  really  deserve.  It  is  lamentable,  but  none  the  less  true, 
that  such  things  really  occur  where  the  public  expects  only 
such  examples  as  are  worthy  of  imitation. 

However,  I  won't  stop  to  moralize,  for  I  want  to  tell  you 
about  our  November  meeting.  Of  course  we  had  one  as 
usual  in  October,  but  Miss  Preston  was  not  present,  having 
actually  gone  to  the  woods  hickory  nutting  with  her  school 
children !  Actually,  I  don't  see  how  she  dared. 

Mr.  Johnson  fidgeted  some  during  the  exercises  until 
Miss  Preston's  name  was  called.  Then  he  arose  and  said, 
with  the  unusual  blandness  by  which  we  all  know  when  he 
is  very  much  excited  inwardly: 


I0  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  As  Miss  Preston  is  not  here  to  respond  for  herself,  per- 
haps I  can  best  explain  her  absence  by  reading  a  communi- 
cation I  received  from  her  last  evening.  I  don't  know  as 
she  intended  it  to  be  made  public,"  half  apologetically,  "but 
I  don't  really  understand  what  she  does  mean  sometimes, 
nor  what  to  think  of  her  methods  either  in  teaching  or 
governing." 

Without  further  ado  he  read  the  following  note : 
"  MR.  JOHNSON, 

Respected  Sir :  —  Having  no  particular  taste  for  statistics, 
and  no  special  hope  or  desire  to  undo  the  red  tape  that 
surrounds  our  faculty  meeting,  I  trust  you  will  excuse  my 
absence  from  it  to-morrow,  as  I  intend,  if  the  day  is  bright, 
to  take  my  school  for  a  walk  to  the  woods,  two  or  three 
miles  up  the  river. 

Yours,  Respectfully, 

H.  M.  PRESTON." 

A  dead  silence  ensued,  like  that  which  precedes  a  clap  of 
thunder  on  a  June  day.  Then  Mr.  Johnson  handed  the 
note  to  the  secretary  to  be  filed  among  the  other  archives  of 
the  institution,  with  the  remark  that  "  Perhaps,  since  Miss 
Preston  feels  free  to  criticise  the  manner  and  matter  of  our 
meeting,  we  had  better  ask  her  to  take  charge  of  the  next 
one." 

Some  of  us  fancied  that  his  tone  was  rather  cynical ;  but  it 
it  was  he  must  have  been  disappointed  at  the  result  of  his 
suggestion,  for  Mr.  Brown  immediately  moved  that  ''  she  be 
requested  to  act  as  president  at  the  next  meeting."  The 
motion  was  instantly  seconded  by  two  voices  and  carried  by 
a  unanimous  vote  of  the  house. 

I  wanted  to  ask  that  she  also  be  requested  to  furnish 


LESSORS  LEARNED  DURING    THE    WALK.  IX 

a  report  of  her  Saturday  in  the  woods,  tor  I  had  a  vague 
idea  that  there  was  something  more  than  a  mere  pleasure 
excursion  in  her  mental  program;  but  courage  failed  me, 
for  I  wouldn't  dare  incur  Mr.  Johnson's  displeasure,  as  I'd 
be  pretty  sure  to  do  if  I  suggested  anything  like  a  "new 
departure,"  be  it  ever  so  tiny.  I  afterward  made  private 
investigations  among  her  pupils  and  —  would  you  believe 
it?  —  I  found  that  she  actually  gave  them  practical  lessons 
in  botany,  from  the  leaves,  shrubs,  and  trees,  as  they  went 
along ;  from  the  location  of  streets,  lots,  and  houses,  she 
taught  geography,  as  well  as  from  the  hills,  river  banks,  etc.; 
she  called  their  attention  to  the  science  of  geology  by  means 
of  the  sand,  gravel,  and  rocks ;  she  cultivated  their  taste 
for  natural  history  by  living  specimens  of  squirrels,  birds, 
and  insects  in  the  woods;  as  if  that  were  not  enough,  she 
inspired  them  with  a  wish  to  study  literature,  by  producing 
a  volume  of  Bryant  and  reading  his  grand  old  "  Forest 
Hymn  "  while  they  were  resting  in  the  woods  before  eating 
their  lunch.  To  finish  with,  she  laid  aside  their  usual  lessons 
and  text  books  the  next  Monday  afternoon,  and  had  her 
entire  school  writing  compositions !  Only,  she  did  not  use 
the  word  composition.  She  merely  said : 

"  Now,  if  you  will  put  away  your  books,  quietly,  you  may 
each  tell  rne  what  you  saw  or  heard  or  did  last  Saturday, 
that  pleased,  interested,  or  instructed  you.  But  as  there  are 
so  many  of  you,  there  will  not  be  time  for  all  to  speak,  so 
you  may  write  on  your  slates  ;  and  those  who  have  time 
and  wish  to  may  read  what  they  write.  Then  if  any  of 
you  prefer  to  have  me  read  it  for  you  I  will  do  so  sometime 
to-morrow." 

And  one  httle  boy  really  cried  because  his  slate  "  was  full 


I2  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

and  he  hadn't  half  finished;  he  wanted  to  tell  about  that 
cunning  lizard  he  saw,"  and  was  only  consoled  by  being 
assured  that  if  no  one  else  wrote"  about  it,  he  should  have  a 
chance  another  day. 

It  is  just  wonderful  how  much  she  crowds  into  a  small 
compass ;  and  she  mixes  education  into  everything,  so  that 
half  the  time  the  children  don't  know  whether  they  are 
studying  or  playing. 

But  where  was  I  ?  Oh,  about  our  November  session ! 
Through  carelessness  or  otherwise,  the  secretary  neglected 
to  tell  her  of  her  election  and  consequent  duties,  until  the 
evening  before  the  meeting.  But  she  accepted  the  situation, 
ignoring  the  intended  compliment  or  sarcasm,  or  whatever 
was  meant  by  the  superintendent,  and  after  the  usual  pre- 
liminaries addressed  us  somewhat  as  follows : 
"My  FELLOW  TEACHERS: 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  respond  to  the  invitation 
which  came  to  me  at  the  eleventh  hour,  which  tardiness 
would  render  superfluous  any  apology  for  lack  of  requisite 
preparation.  Ours  is  a  noble  calling,  and  they  who  enter 
it  should  be  from  among  the  very  best  types  of  manhood 
and  womanhood.  Questions  of  importance  in  the  common 
cause  should  be  discussed  in  common  council,  with  ample 
opportunity  for  free  expression  of  ideas  and  interchange  of 
personal  experience.  All  can  contribute  something.  Those 
who  have  grown  gray  in  the  honorable  service  can  give  us 
who  are  younger  the  benefit  of  their  wisdom ;  those  who 
have  attained  brilliant  successes  in  some  particular  depart- 
ment may  be  glad  to  get  advice  in  some  other;  those  who 
have  failed  anywhere  will  be  glad  to  know  how  to  retrieve 
their  mistakes.  Thus  we  can  be  of  mutual  help  to  each 


TEACHERS  IN  COUNCIL.  I3 

other,  and  the  monthly  association  of  teachers  be  made  to 
do  grand  work  for  the  cause.  Feeling  so  illy  prepared  to 
say  anything  practical  —  and  I'm  daily  becoming  more  con- 
vinced that  nothing  is  worth  saying  in  such  a  place  that  is 
not  practical  —  I  took  the  liberty  to  bring  my  November 
number  of  the  '  Teachers'  Companion '  which  always  has 
something  of  interest." 

She  proceeded  to  read  an  article  on  "  School  Manage- 
ment," and  then  asked  us  to  talk  it  over  and  to  give  our  own 
experience;  and  do  you  know  that  we  got  so  well  under  way 
and  so  much  interested,  that  we  never  thought  to  dismiss  at 
the  traditional  hour,  but  stayed  on  and  on,  until  the  light 
became  so  dim  that  we  could  scarcely  see.  It  was  not  a  bit 
formal,  and  I  was  not  at  all  sure  it  would  be  popular;  but 
the  interest  increased  every  moment. 

It  is  strange  how  far  a  little  enthusiasm  will  go  toward 
awakening  an  interest  in  anything.  Carlyle,  I  think  it  is,  says, 
in  effect,  that  to  convince  others  a  man  must  be  thoroughly 
in  earnest,  and  I  believe  it. 

Mr.  Johnson  actually  asked  Miss  Preston  to  continue  in 
the  chair!  This  honor  she  declined  however,  saying,  with 
a  laugh,  that  "  Under  a  republican  form  of  government,  a 
frequent  change  of  administration  is  desirable,  so  that  the 
offices  with  their  emoluments  and  perquisites  can  be  more 
evenly  distributed  among  botb  parties;  "  and  Mr.  Whipple 
was  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  president  for  the  next  meet- 
ing. I  meant  to  tell  you  in  this  about  Miss  Preston's 
"school  museum"  —  but  must  close  this  already-too-long 
letter  from 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  III. 

PUNISHMENT. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  April  22,  188-. 

MR. ,  Supt.,  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir ;  —  Your  letter  of  inquiry  is  received,  and 
would  say  in  reply  that  we  all  enjoyed  our  November  meet- 
ing so  well  that  we  determined  to  ask  Mr.  Johnson  to  give 
up  the  old  way  of  conducting  them,  and  let  us  try  the 
"class-meeting"  method  in  its  stead,  which  we  had  found 
so  practical  and  so  really  beneficial  —  for  in  that  one  after- 
noon we  had  gathered  a  rich  harvest  of  ideas  that  were 
utterly  unattainable  in  the  old  routine  of  statistics  heretofore 
pursued  so  unquestioningly;  and  we  had  been  inspired  with 
a  zeal  for  the  work  before  unknown  to  us.  A  committee, 
therefore,  waited  upon  him,  and  after  presenting  some  well 
met  objections,  he  consented  to  let  matters  take  their  course 
for  a  time.  So  we  came  together  for  the  December  meeting 
with  a  feeling  of  enthusiasm  that  was  quite  novel  to  some 
of  us. 

Mr.  Whipple  was  in  the  chair,  and  in  a  few  well  chosen 
words  he  proposed  the  subject  of  Punishment  as  a  nucleus 
around  which  we  might  all  gather,  and  said  that  he  himself 
had  experienced  some  difficulty  in  solving  the  problem  as  to 
whether  we  had  any  right  to  use  the  rod,  but  that  he  found 
less  and  less  occasion  to  use  it  every  year  he  taught. 


WHIPPING.  I5 

Miss  Wood  was  then  called  upon,  and  she  confessed  that 
she  had  never  yet  attempted  to  administer  corporal  punish- 
ment without  fear  of  personal  consequences  to  herself ! 
It  seemed  quite  easy  to  believe  her,  for  although  large 
of  stature  and  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  she  has  no 
"  presence ;  "  and  I  can  readily  believe  that  under  her  weak 
administration  the  majesty  of  the  law  would  suffer  contempt. 
Indeed,  I  am  told  by  one  of  her  assistants  —  she  is  Principal 
of  Grammar  School  No.  5  —  that  she  actually  has  to  "play 
tag  "  with  any  one  whom  she  sees  fit  to  call  up  for  real  or 
supposed  misdemeanors;  and  when  the  culprit  is  finally 
captured  he  ( Of  course  it  is  always  a  boy.  Girls  go  scot 
free  for  the  same  offense  that  in  a  boy  would  be  deemed 
unpardonable ! )  not  infrequently  defends  himself ;  nay, 
more,  sometimes  even  acting  on  the  aggressive.  Dignified? 
No,  I  don't  think  so.  I  hardly  believe  she  is  capable  of 
inspiring  any  one  with  a  wholesome  degree  of  awe,  nor  do  I 
wonder  that  she  is  afraid  to  whip  a  pupil  and  trembles  for 
the  consequences  when  she  does  it. 

Mr.  Smith  was  the  next  speaker,  and  he  declared  without 
any  hesitation  that  "Whipping  does  no  good  anyway.  It 
does  not  last  and  doesn't  mean  anything  while  it  does  last." 
Verily,  in  his  hands  it  would  not.  He  is  second  assistant 
in  Senior  School  No.  2,  and  his  boys  —  yes,  and  girls  too  — 
run  right  over  him;  and  in  his  hands  a  rod  would  be  about  as 
effectual  as  rosewater  in  a  revolution !  Why,  only  last  week 
his  botany  class  —  young  ladies  from  fourteen  to  eighteen, 
with  a  few  boys  sprinkled  in  —  demanded  half  a  day  out,  in 
which  to  look  up  specimens;  and  when  he  ventured  the 
feeble  remonstrance  that  it  was  "  too  early  yet,  in  the  season," 
one  of  them  cheerfully  confided  the  fact  that  "  You  might 


!6  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

as  well  say  '  Yes '  first  as  last,  for  we  are  all  going  to  the 
matine'e  this  afternoon  and  the  botany  was  only  an  excuse!  " 
And  they  went  without  further  parley  !  Fancy  him  trying 
to  bring  any  one  to  time !  Some  people  are  bold  enough  to 
suggest  that  he  ought  to  be  discharged  for  his  incompetency 
(the  very  last  thing  in  the  world  to  discharge  a  teacher  for), 
but  they  are  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the  political  chain 
surrounding  our  school  system  here,  of  which  he  is  an 
important  link.  Somebody  might  lose  a  vote  if  he  were 
discharged,  and  so,  perchance,  lose  an  opportunity  to  feed 
at  the  public  crib !  You  surely  did  not  suppose  we  were 
really  hired  from  the  sole  standpoint  of  merit?  Ah,  no. 
This  is  a  progressive  age,  and  that  plan  like  other  obsolete 
customs  is  "  more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observ- 
ance." Some  of  us  would  not  be  retained  very  long  if  it 
were  otherwise,  although  very  comfortable  as  it  is,  knowing 
that  the  political  influence  of  our  friends  will  not  be  ignored. 

Blessed  be  the  ballot  box,  containing  as  it  does  the  expres- 
sion of  every  American  voter's  unbiased  opinion  !  Few, 
indeed,  among  our  number  who  are  not  indebted  to  it  both 
for  position  and  salary.  Long  may  it  wave !  But  I  digress. 
Let  me  find  myself  before  I  get  too  far  lost. 

Miss  Sigourney  was  the  next  speaker.  Her  reputation  is 
that  of  a  rigorous  disciplinarian.  It  is  an  unquestioned 
axiom  that  "  Force  without  justice  is  tyranny  " — and  judged 
by  this  standard  she  is  no  less  a  tyrant  of  to-day,  than  was 
Nero  of  old,  except  in  degree,  she  never  losing  the  grasp  on 
her  whip  nor  an  opportunity  of  using  it.  To  be  sure  she 
has  an  unruly  set  of  pupils  who  sometimes  break  out  into 
open  rebellion  —  but  I'm  not  at  all  sure  that  she  is  not  at 
least  in  a  measure  responsible  for  it  herself.  Certainly, 


A   RIGOROUS  DISCIPLINARIAN.  !7 

nothing  can  be  more  brutalizing  in  its  effect  than  the  con- 
tinued sight  and  sound  of  retribution  administered  to  those 
who  are  powerless  to  help  themselves,  even  when  an  actual 
injustice  is  being  shown  —  as  must  sometimes  be  the  case 
where  the  application  is  so  frequent;  and  occasional  mutiny 
may  be  looked  for,  where  the  teacher  is  at  war  with  child- 
nature.  Of  course  she  advocated  the  free  use  of  Solomon's 
"  Spare  not,"  and  that  in  terms  not  noted  for  any  especial 
tenderness.  There  is  cruelty  in  her  mouth ;  vindictiveness 
in  her  eye ;  resolution  in  her  tramp,  and  subjugation  in  her 
entire  manner.  It  is  enough  to  stir  up  all  the  old  Adam 
there  is  in  any  one,  simply  to  look  at  her.  Perhaps  the 
hardness  of  her  features  may  be  traced  to  the  rocky,  sterile 
soil  of  her  early  home ;  but  it  is  doubtless  augmented  by 
her  own  daily  practices  which  cannot  but  leave  their  marks. 
She  looks  like  a  person  that  has  missed  the  best  part  of  life 

—  and  has  become  calloused  and  fossilized  by  an  experience 
that  would  have  made  some  natures  only  the  more  sweet 
and  womanly. 

I  was  next  called  upon,  and  said  with  some  trepidation 
that  ridicule  and  sarcasm  were  as  good  instruments  as  any  I 
had  ever  tried  in  the  way  of  punishment.  Miss  Preston 
was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  but  her  impatience  to 
speak  was  plainly  visible ;  even  at  that  distance  I  could  see 
her  eyes  flash  and  her  brows  knit  while  waiting  for  her 
turn  to  come,  and  then  how  perfectly  regal  she  looked  as 
she  denounced  theory  after  theory !  When  she  reached  the 
climax  I  was  fairly  awed  by  her  manner !  Would  I  could 
give  you  the  burning  words  just  as  they  came  from  her  lips 

—  but  I  can  scarcely  do  even  faint  justice  to  the  ideas  that 
must  lose  so  much  of  their  intensity  in  the  printed  page, 


i8  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

and  from  whose  freshness  and  originality  so  much  is  taken 
by  repetition. 

"  Some  of  you  argue,"  said  she,  "  against  corporal  punish- 
ment because  of  its  cruelty;  but  you  advocate  in  its  stead 
raillery,  ridicule,  sarcasm,  and  contempt.  You  are  afraid  to 
leave  the  marks  of  corporal  punishment  on  the  bodies  of 
your  pupils;  but  you  do  not  hesitate  to  inflict  on  their  souls 
wounds  that  can  never  be  healed  by  any  poultice  save  that 
of  love  and  tenderness,  and  whose  scars  will  last  thro'  life. 
If  corporal  punishment  is  pronounced  brutal  and  degrading, 
what  shall  you  say  of  mental  punishment,  which  is  so  painful 
to  sensitive  natures  and  deadening  to  stubborn  ones  ?  " 

"Perhaps  Miss  Preston  will  favor  us  with  some  sugges- 
tions," came  from  the  Chair. 

Miss  PKESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PUNISHMENT. 


No.  IV. 

PUNISHMENT  ( Continued). 

"Well,  I  do  not  believe  entirely  in  the  sugar  plum  system,' 
she  said  ;  "  although  I  find  but  few  who  are  not  more  easily 
led  than  driven  ;  very  few  on  whom  kindness  is  thrown 
away.  But  I  do  sometimes  find  two  classes  of  troublesome 
children  :  spoiled  children,  who  have  to  be  dealt  with  very 
firmly,  although  in  all  kindness  ;  and  neglected  children, 
those  who  have  no  good  home  influences  —  these  require 
gentler  treatment,  and  in  no  case  would  I  sneer  at  them.  I 
would  be  very  careful  even  how  I  rallied  them,  or  made 
tools  of  their  feelings  for  any  purpose.  A  child's  feelings 
are  too  delicate  for  rough  or  frequent  handling.  Bulwer 
touches  upon  this  point  when  he  says  :  '  Our  feelings,  espe- 
cially in  youth,  resemble  that  leaf  which  is  described  by 
some  old  traveler  as  expanding  itself  to  warmth  ;  but  when 
chilled,  not  only  shrinking  and  closing  but  presenting  to  the 
spectator  thorns  which  had  before  lain  concealed  upon  the 
opposite  side  of  it.'  All  punishment  should  depend,  not 
only  upon  the  offense  itself  but  also  upon  the  character  and 
motive  of  the  offender.  We  are  too  often  ourselves  to 
blame  for  the  perverseness  and  disobedience  of  our  pupils, 
by  our  lack  of  tact  in  administering  censure  when  it  becomes 
necessary;  by  the  uncalled  for  and  unwise  parade  of  our 
suspicions,  which  frequently  prove  unjust;  by  the  threats 


20  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

which  we  make  and  do  not  mean  to  put  into  execution,  and 
which  we  would  not  if  we  could ;  by  the  futile  attempt  to 
practice  upon  theories  whose  fundamental  principles  are  not 
understood,  as  well  as  our  neglect  of  those  that  are  seen  to 
be  right,  having  been  dictated  with  common  sense  for  their 
basis ;  by  our  lack  of  self-control,  without  which  no  one  of 
us  has  any  right  to  assume  the  control  of  others  ;  and  by 
sacrificing  ends  to  means  in  general." 

We  were  spell-bound.  Not  one  of  us  but  felt  the  truth  of 
her  impressive  home  thrusts,  and  not  one  other  that  would 
have  dared  venture  to  make  the  same  remarks. 

"  How  would  you  govern  bad  children,  then  ? " 

"In  two  ways:  Negatively  —  by  not  acting  as  though  I 
thought  that  total  depravity  was  a  foregone  conclusion  and 
that  I  was  elected  to  take  vengeance  for  it ;  positively — by 
a  firm  belief  in  the  possibility  of  reformation  ;  by  striving 
to  aid  its  accomplishment  through  kindness,  self  respect, 
and  trust.  Like  the  old  man  in  the  spelling  book,  I  would 
first  try  the  effect  of  kind  words ;  these  failing  I  would  use 
grass,  and  only  as  a  last  resort,  stones." 

"  Then  you  would  use  corporal  punishment  occasionally  ? " 
(This  from  Miss  Sigourney.) 

"Yes  —  but  only  under  the  greatest  restriction,  and  in  a 
rational  way  and  amount ;  generally  in  private,  and  but  very, 
seldom  immediately  after  the  offense." 

"  Why  ?  Please  give  your  reasons  for  the  last  two 
conditions." 

"  In  private  ( unless  the  nature  of  the  wrong  requires 
public  reprimand )  both  because  it  is  too  humiliating  to  the 
offender,  and  too  hardening  in  its  influence  upon  the  rest. 
Not  immediately,  because  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  real 


RESTRICTIONS  UPON  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT.    2r 

reason  we  whip  a  child  is  because  we  lose  our  own  temper, 
and  by  waiting  we  may  find  it.  I  do  not  say  we  should 
never  be  angry,  for  a  righteous  indignation  is  never  out  of 
place,  if  directed  against  anything  cruel,  mean,  or  dishonest; 
but  if  we  wait  a  while,  we  shall  see  the  extenuating  circum- 
stances, if  there  are  any,  and  be  more  apt  to  administer 
justice  with  less  of  personal  feeling.  The  very  best  strategy 
we  can  use  in  meeting  any  evil  habit  is  to  put  in  a  good  one 
to  counteract  it.  Still,  there  may  be  natures  that  can  be 
reached  by  nothing  else  so  effectually  as  by  a  decent  amount 
of  whipping  ( only  we  must  be  too  wise  to  be  arbitrary  or 
despotic).  J.  G.  Holland  must  have  met  with  just  such  a 
character  before  writing  '  Nicholas  Minturn/  as  he  describes 
in  his  inimitable  way  a  boy  of  that  class.  The  boy  had 
been  educated  in  the  streets,  and  the  spiritual  pabulum  he 
received  in  the  Sunday  School  had  been  of  the  sickly,  senti- 
mental sort  that  had  left  him  a  complete  bully,  and  a  coward 
as  well  —  the  one  characteristic  usually  accompanying  the 
other.  But  it  so  happened  that  once  upon  a  time  he  learned 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  limit  to  human  patience,  and 
the  lesson  was  not  lost.  He  had  worried  his  Sunday  School 
teacher  during  the  entire  session  and  then  followed  her 
home,  snowballing  her  on  the  way.  Reaching  the  front  steps, 
she  turned  around  and  smilingly  invited  him  to  'Come  in.' 
He  was  nothing  loth,  having  experienced  just  such  a  sugar- 
and-water  return  for  his  brutality  to  others  before;  so,  slyly 
winking  to  a  companion  outside,  and  promising  to  divide 
the  expected  spoil,  he  entered  with  her.  She  ushered  him 
into  a  luxuriously  furnished  parlor  and  bade  him  amuse 
himself  while  she  went  up  stairs  to  lay  aside  her  hat  and 
cloak.  He  did  so  and  became  so  thoroughly  engrossed  in. 


22  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

contemplation  of  the  works  of  art  and  ornament  before 
him,  as  well  as  by  his  own  sense  of  smartness  in  having  once 
more  secured  a  premium  for  his  abuse  of  kindness,  that  he 
did  not  know  she  had  returned  until  he  felt  his  head  drawn 
back  by  the  hair,  held  in  a  firm  and  unrelenting  grasp  by 
the  lily  white  fingers  of  one  delicate  hand  of  his  teacher, 
while  she  used  the  other,  with  some  emphasis,  on  his  face, 
leaving  a  wholesome  sting  after  every  blow.  He  was  too 
much  astonished  to  resent  it,  and  when  she  dismissed  him 
with  a  few  incisive  words,  he  left  her  presence  a  changed 
being  in  one  respect,  and  her  devoted  champion  ever  after." 
This  brought  the  meeting  to  an  end,  as  I  must  my  letter, 
which  is  already  too  long,  and  I  have  not  mentioned  one 
word  about  the  "  Museum  "  yet !  However,  it  will  keep 
until  you  again  hear  from 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


THE  MUSEUM. 


23 


No.  V. 
THE    MUSEUM. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  18,  188- 
MR. ,  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  Hoping  that  you  can  make  use  of  this, 
in  your  talks  with  teachers,  I  want  to  tell  you  about  our 
museum,  for  it  certainly  has  been  a  wonderful  "  help "  in 
our  school,  and  mayhap  some  other  teacher  knowing  of  it 
may  be  persuaded  to  go  and  do  likewise. 

At  the  left  of  the  hall  as  we  enter  our  schoolroom  is  a 
closet  which  has  been  used  as  a  sort  of  storeroom  from  time 
immemorial.  Early  in  the  fall  term,  while  Miss  Preston  was 
yet  a  stranger,  practically,  she  requested  one  of  the  boys 
to  stay  after  school  one  night  and  help  her.  Now  it  so 
happened  ( or  did  she  plan  it  for  his  benefit  ? )  that  he  was 
one  who,  by  his  disobedient  and  unruly  spirit,  had  given 
her  numerous  predecessors  much  trouble,  both  by  his  own 
conduct  and  by  his  evil  influence  over  those  who,  if  left  to 
themselves  would  be  harmless,  but  who  are  always  foremost 
in  a  mob  of  any  kind.  So  we  were  somewhat  surprised  at 
her  selection,  although  as  yet  none  of  us  had  any  idea  of 
the  nature  or  amount  of  help  required  by  our  principal,  for 

Miss  Preston  is  one  of  those  rare  worn spirits,  I  mean, 

who  do  not  publish  all  their  plans,  even  to  their  "  dear  five 
hundred  "  friends. 


24  PRESTON   PAPERS, 

However,  we  were  rather  indifferent,  for  up  to  this  time  we 
subordinates  had  not  felt  any  particular  "kinship  of  soul" 
for  the  young  stranger  who  had  been  given  one  of  the  best 
positions  in  the  city — and  that,  too,  right  over  the  heads  of  so 
many  of  us  who  were  older  and  whose  years  of  faithful  toil 
were  thereby  completely  ignored;  and  we  were  not  going  to 
be  surprised  if  she  did  spring  a  wasps'  nest;  nor  would  we 
offer  one  friendly  suggestion  to  prevent  any  catastrophe 
which  our  peculiar  talents  for  forecasting  trouble  had  shown 
would  be  inevitable.  All  that  we  were  waiting  for  was  the 
opportunity  to  say  calmly,  but  with  none  the  less  triumph : 
'" I  told  you  so  !  "  (I  may  as  well  add,  right  here,  that  the 
.golden  opportunity  never  came,  and  we  are  now  somewhat 
•abashed  to  think  we  ever  wished  for  it.) 

But  I  am  getting  too  far  from  that  closet,  which  surprised 
us  the  next  morning  by  its  complete  transformation.  The 
blinds,  heretofore  closed,  were  now  open ;  the  window  had 
been  cleaned  and  was  shaded  by  a  pretty,  although  inex- 
pensive, lambrequin  of  blue  and  gray  cretonne;  the  shelves 
were  also  clean  and  covered  with  blue  paper  of  the  same 
shade  as  the  lambrequin.  The  old  brooms,  kindling  wood, 
coal  scuttle,  dust  pan,  waste  paper,  etc.,  that  had  always  held 
undisputed  possession  of  the  floor,  were  nowhere  visible. 
History  has  since  revealed  the  fact  —  through  the  lips  of  the 
janitor  —  that  they  were  banished  to  the  furnace  basement. 

Miss  Preston  had  not  arrived  when  I  entered  the  school- 
room, but  James  Moore  soon  came  in  (  He  always  used  to  be 
""  Jimmed,"  but  Miss  Preston  never  calls  any  of  the  pupils 
by  any  other  than  their  proper  names.  She  says  it  is  not 
courteous,  nor  respectful  to  the  wish  of  those  who  gave  them 
the  name,  and  that  it  has  a  tendency  to  lower  the  tone  of  a 


NICKNAMES— MUSEUM  INTRODUCED.  25 

child's  morals  by  lessening  its  self-respect;  and  gradually 
we  have  left  off  substituting  "  Maggie,  Matie,  Sammy,  Tom, 
Dick,  and  Harry,"  for  Margaret,  Mary,  Samuel,  Thomas, 
Richard,  and  Henry);  and  then  the  questions  plied  loudly 
and  rapidly.  At  first  he  evaded  them,  but  when  Agatha 
Breese  said  in  her  contemptuous  way :  ''  If  you  were  much 
of  a  gentleman  you  would  not  treat  a  lady's  questions  in 
this  way  ;  "  he  straightened  himself  up  and  said,  with  more 
manliness  and  force  of  character  than  I  ever  saw  him  exhibit 
before : 

"  I  am  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  betray  anybody's  con- 
fidence. Miss  Preston  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  ask 
me  not  to  tell  her  plans ;  and  as  she  trusted  me,  I  mean  to 
show  myself  worthy  of  it ;  "  and  such  is  the  power  of  one 
strong  will  in  a  crowd  that  not  another  question  was  asked, 
.although  such  exclamations  as  "I  wonder,"  "I  guess,"  and 
"I  hope,"  were  numerous. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait,  however,  for  just  before  recess 
that  day  she  struck  the  signal  for  "Order,"  and  then  said: 

"  My  dear  pupils,  I  have  a  plan  in  which  I  hope  you  will 
be  interested,  as  it  may  become  a  source  of  much  pleasure 
as  well  as  profit.  You  doubtless  see  and  hear  of  many 
things,  every  day,  both  in  nature  and  art,  which  you  do  not 
fully  understand,  some,  perhaps,  of  which  you  know  nothing; 
and  I  propose  to  make  use  of  our  closet  as  a  cabinet  01 
museum,  to  hold  such  specimens  as  you  may  collect  from 
time  to  time  for  study  and  classification.  We  will  have 
each  article  properly  labeled  and  catalogued  with  as  full  a 
description  as  we  can  obtain.  I  have  provided  a  large 
blank  book  for  that  purpose  and  mean  to  divide  the  work 
of  keeping  the  entries  amjng  those  of  you  who  wish.  As 


26  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

a  beginning  I  have  brought,  for  contribution,  a  few  things 
which  you  are  at  liberty  to  examine  and  talk  about  during 
recess." 

So  saying  she  placed  on  her  desk  a  piece  of  coral,  a  stick 
of  sealing  wax,  some  cotton  seeds,  and  a  pod  containing  a 
small  quantity  of  cotton,  a  chromo,  some  steel  filings,  a 
whale's  tooth,  some  silver  ore,  a  slate  pencil,  and  a  piece  of 
mahogany. 

The  "  Museum,"  as  a  matter  of  course,  became  the  chief 
topic  of  conversation  from  that  moment,  and  when  the 
pupils  returned  after  the  noon  intermission,  they  were  laden 
with  specimens  for  it  from  things  common  and  familiar,  and 
some  that  were  not  as  well  known.  Intelligent  thought  was 
awakened,  and  the  pupils  thought,  talked,  and  read,  to  some 
purpose.  Spare  moments  have  been  spent  by  all  of  us  in  a 
diligent  search  for  information  in  dictionaries,  cyclopaedias, 
works  of  natural  history,  the  sciences,  etc.,  and  now  the 
collection  has  become  a  large  and  really  valuable  as  well  as 
interesting  one,  having  had  several  contributions  from  those 
outside  of  the  school,  who  had  become  interested  by  seeing 
or  hearing  of  it. 

And  the  Museum  has  helped  govern  our  school,  providing 
occupation  for  the  mind  and  body,  filling  up  time  that  might 
.have  been  spent  in  idleness  or  in  plotting  mischief,  and 
finally  by  knitting  together  in  warm  friendship  the  hearts  of 
pupil  and  teacher,  those  who,  alas !  too  often  stand  in  the 
lamentable  position  of  antagonists.  Think  you  the  child 
who  is  called  upon  to  assist  or  allowed  in  any  way  to  partici- 
pate in  things  of  this  kind  will  betray  the  confidence  of  the 
teacher  whose  love  and  wisdom  originated  it  ?  I  tell  you 
"  Nay."  There  is  no  such  thing  as  total  depravity. 


EFFECTS    OF    THE   MUSEUM. 


27 


"But  does  it  pay  ? "  I  heard  Miss  Wood  ask  of  Miss 
Preston  last  spring.  "  You  are  looking  worn  and  thin,  and 
all  this  extra  work  seems  to  me  like  giving  '  too  many  oats 
for  a  shilling  ; '  it  will  never  be  appreciated  outside  of  your 
pupils  —  doubtful  if  even  they  do  so  before  they  are  forty; 
and  the  trustees  will  never  make  the  humane  discovery  that 
you  are  working  beyond  your  strength,  as  well  as  beyond 
your  salary." 

Tears  actually  stood  in  Miss  Preston's  eyes  as  she  replied 
softly:  "Yes,  it  pays  a  thousand-fold,  if  by  this  means  even 
one  child  is  brought  into  closer  communion  with  Nature, 
and  led  to  a  higher  conception  of  the  Infinite  Wisdom  that 
planned  and  created  it  for  our  use  and  enjoyment.  As  for 
myself,  //  is  my  work.  I  love  it  and  have  chosen  it — because 
I  love  it  —  in  preference  to  everything  else;  and  anything 
that  I  can  do  to  promote  the  welfare  of  my  school  is  not  too 
dear,  even  at  the  expense  of  some  of  my  time  and  strength 
beyond  the  six  hours  per  diem  for  which  I  am  legally 
responsible." 

And  right  here  I  must  add,  in  justice  to  the  above-men- 
tioned gentlemen,  the  trustees,  that  at  their  July  meeting, 
they,  voluntarily  and  without  a  hint  from  any  one,  increased 
Miss  Preston's  salary  for  the  coming  year,  making  it  nine 
hundred  instead  of  seven  hundred  dollars.  Verily,  all  trus- 
tees are  not  deaf  as  well  as  blind,  nor  are  all  their  hearts 
ossified !  (Teachers  will  please  make  a  note  of  this  discov- 
ery. EDITOR.) 

But  I  must  tell  you  "how"  and  then  close.  Our  closet 
is  eminently  suitable  for  the  purpose,  having  a  window  at 
one  end,  a  door  at  the  other,  and  shelves  on  either  side 
with  cupboards  beneath  them.  Pasteboard  of  different 


2 8  PRESTON   PAPERS. 

colors  has  been  used  for  cutting  out  letters  to  designate  the 
animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms,  and  the  specimens 
are  grouped  accordingly,  numbered,  and  the  corresponding 
number  placed  in  the  catalogue,  together  with  the  date  of 
entry,  name  of  the  contributor,  and  as  complete  a  descrip- 
tion as  can  be  obtained.  Many  of  the  children  have  note 
books,  in  which  they  write  about  anything  that  specially 
pleases  or  interests  them,  and  thus  the  foundation  is  laid 
for  many  a  composition  —  which,  by  the  way,  Miss  Preston 
succeeds  in  getting  from  all  her  pupils  without  any  of  the 
usual  "  scuffles  "  over  it. 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


THE   SCHOOLROOM.  29 


No.  VI. 

RESPONSIBILITY. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  29,  188-. 
MR. ,  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Very  Dear  Sir : — Miss  Preston  always  seems  to  have 
an  idea  that  the  schoolroom  should  be  made  and  kept  not 
only  clean  and  comfortable  but  pleasant ;  and  her  innova- 
tions in  this  direction  have  been  simply  wonderful  —  at  the 
same  time  they  have  been  so  wonderfully  simple  that  they 
may  be  brought  about  by  any  teacher  who  will  act  upon 
Mrs.  Chick's  advice  to  Mrs.  Dombey,  and  "  Make  an  effort, 
Louisa !  " 

So  far  as  I  personally  am  concerned  I  do  not  believe 
it  essential  to  correct  parsing  that  every  atom  of  dirt  be 
rendered  invisible;  nor  can  I  see  any  relation  between  apple 
cores  and  paper  wads  on  the  floor  and  ceiling  and  idleness, 
whispering,  mischief,  and  unlearned  lessons.  But  then,  I'm 
no  logician,  and  Miss  Preston  is,  and  when  she  begins  to 
reason  about  cause  and  effect,  and  to  bring  tangible  and 
incontrovertible  prooi  to  substantiate  her  argument,  I  am 
obliged  to  acquiesce  —  or  seem  to,  at  least.  "A  man  con- 
vinced against  his  will,"  etc. 

Nearly  a  year  ago  I  was  much  surprised  to  hear  Miss 
Preston  tell  Mr.  Johnson  that  she  wanted  some  new  curtains, 
a  thermometer,  and  a  waste  paper  basket  for  her  schoolroom. 


30  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

He  opened  his  eyes,  rather  at  the  character  than  at  the 
number  of  her  requests,  then  blandly  informed  her  that  he'd 
refer  her  items  to  the  "committee  on  incidentals"  —  and 
would  you  believe  it  ?  In  less  than  a  week  she  had  all  three  ! 
They  called  a  special  meeting  to  consider  her  wants,  and 
cited  her  to  appear  and  state  her  reasons  for  the  same. 

"  Curtains !  "  said  Mr.  Seeley,  "  are  there  no  blinds  to 
your  windows? " 

"  Yes,  sir.  But  when  they  are  open  the  light  is  so  strong 
as  to  be  dazzling;  and  when  closed,  they  not  only  make  the 
room  too  dark,  but  they  also  hinder  ventilation.  I  have 
observed  that  many  of  the  older  pupils  are  near-sighted;  and 
I  wish  them  to  have  as  good  light  as  is  possible,  for  I  believe 
that  much  of  this  trouble  is  due  to  the  poor  or  insufficient 
light  at  school.  Many,  too,  show  indications  of  catarrh  and 
lung  trouble,  and  these  are  always  aggravated  by  impure 
air.  I  find  the  sunlight  a  very  necessary  auxiliary  in  keep- 
ing the  children  well  and  cheerful  while  at  their  work ;  but 
at  times  it  needs  to  be  somewhat  moderated  in  its  intensity, 
and  this  is  best  done  by  means  of  a  light  cloth  shade  that 
will  not  exclude  the  light." 

After  a  short  whispered  conversation  they  voted  a  unani- 
mous "Aye  "  to  that  request. 

"  But  what  in  the  world  do  you  want  of  a  thermometer  ? " 

Without  showing  the  least  annoyance  she  explained  that 
also : 

"  As  my  duties  keep  me  on  my  feet  and  give  me  more  or 
less  exercise,  I  am  not  the  best  judge  of  the  temperature 
proper  for  those  who  are  sitting  and  whose  circulation  is 
therefore  imperfect.  That  hinders  digestion,  causing  head- 
ache, etc.  We  do  not  expect  a  chain  to  support  a  greater 


CLEANLINESS—  HEAL  TH—  HABITS.  3 1 

weight  than  will  its  weakest  link ;  and  when  a  child's 
physique  is  dwarfed,  stunted,  or  weakened,  we  need  not 
look  for  activity  of  brain." 

That  argument  proved  a  clincher,  and  when  Mr.  Hoi- 
brook  reported  favorably  on  that  matter,  he  suggested 
mischievously : 

"  I  suppose  you  have  some  sanitary  reason  for  wishing  a 
waste  paper  basket,  too,  or  is  it  merely  a  moral  one  ?  " 

"  Both,"  she  replied  promptly.  "  Cleanliness  is  not  only 
'next  to  godliness,'  but  is  also  one  of  the  first  and  best 
means  of  preserving  health.  Consistency  would  prevent 
me  from  insisting  on  personal  neatness  among  my  pupils, 
if  my  floor  were  allowed  to  become  untidy.  Besides,  the 
habits  of  childhood  and  youth  go  with  us  through  life,  and 
a_  teacher  has  a  grave  responsibility  in  helping  form  those 
habits." 

She  had  scarcely  finished  when  Mr.  Russell,  as  chairman 
of  the  committee,  exclaimed  : 

"  You  shall  have  the  basket,  Miss  Preston,  and  the  curtains, 
and  the  thermometer,  or  anything  else  you  want  for  your 
school  while  I  have  a  dollar  in  my  purse.  If  we  have  finally 
found  a  teacher  who  will  really  show  some  interest  in  the 
pupils  beyond  a  salaried  or  text-book  interest,  we  will  stand 
by  her  to  a  unit." 

He  sat  down  and  Miss  Preston  spoke  again : 

"Teachers  are  not  always  so  indifferent  as  they  seem;  but 
they  are  sometimes  in  error  as  to  where  the  duties  of  parents 
leave  off  and  their  own  begin.  They  do  not  want  to  seem 
officious,  and  if  Edward  comes  to  school  with  unwashed 
face  and  uncombed  hair,  they  are  diffident  about  speaking 
of  it,  for  fear  of  hurting  some  sensitive  mother's  feelings  — 


32 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


forgetful,  mayhap,  that  Edward's  mother  has  a  family  of 
several  to  look  after  and  that,  in  the  multiplicity  of  duties 
incumbent  upon  her,  she  almost  necessarily  neglected  to 
look  out  for  Edward's  finger  nails,  teeth,  etc.,  but  who  at 
the  same  time  would  be  glad  to  know  that  her  little  boy 
was  receiving  a  proper  education  upon  this  subject,  as  well 
as  upon  the  boundaries,  capital,  and  government  of  his 
country." 

"True,  Miss  Preston.  And  yet  our  experience  has  led  us 
to  believe  that  as  a  rule  teachers  think  their  duties  ended 
with  the  lessons  in  the  text  books,  forgetting  that  the  great 
lessons  of  life  are  not  found  therein.  They  are  '  hired '  at 
so  much  per  annum,  so  many  hours  per  diem,  and  for  such 
and  such  purposes.  These  conditions  fulfilled  to  the  letter, 
they  have  no  further  interest  in  the  young  immortals  com- 
mitted to  their  care,  and  to  whom  they  stand  in  loco  par entis." 

"  Now  I  do  not  think  you  do  us  justice  as  a  class,  although 
I  am  aware  that  some  enter  the  profession  without  any 
appreciation  of  the  responsibilities  or  opportunities  for  good 
that  are  theirs.  But  is  this  not  true  in  every  walk  of  life  ? 
Does  every  physician  realize  that  he  may  be  a  home  mission- 
ary ?  Will  every  lawyer  plead  only  on  the  side  of  justice  ? 
Does  every  editor  use  his  voice  and  pen  only  for  right  ? 
There  are  laborers  and  shirks  in  every  vineyard  ;  and  of 
course,  our  calling  is  not  an  exception." 

Well  —  since  then  our  schoolroom  has  been  literally  trans- 
formed by  pictures,  brackets,  plants,  and  a  careful  janitor. 
And  yet  there  was  no  friction  about  it.  It  came  about  in  the 
most  natural  way  imaginable.  Miss  Preston  one  morning 
brought  a  jar  containing  a  pink  primrose  in  blossom,  and 
put  it  on  the  window  stool.  After  school  one  of  the  girls 


RESUL  TS  A  CCOM PUSHED. 


33 


asked  if  she  might  water  it,  and  on  receiving  permission, 
said : 

"If  you'd  like  a  Madeira  vine  to  train  around. this  south 
window,  I'll  bring  you  one  in  the  morning." 

And  she  did.  Then  some  one  brought  a  fuchsia,  another 
a  geranium ;  and  so  the  leaven  worked  until  every  window 
was  made  beautiful  with  the  "  Green  things  growing "  of 
which  dear  Dinah  Muloch  sings. 

Later  she  brought  a  dozen  illuminated  mottoes,  and  hung 
them  on  the  walls;  then  came  a  picture  from  one  of  the  boys, 
tendered  half  shyly  "  to  help  "  as  he  said.  Others  followed, 
lending  what  they  had  not  permission  to  give.  And  the 
contents  of  the  waste  paper  basket  were  stored  in  the  base- 
ment in  barrels,  and  at  the  end  of  the  term  sold  to  buy  more 
pictures  !  Economy  and  aesthetics,  all  by  means  of  a  fifty 
cent  basket ! 

What  is  the  effect  of  all  this  ? 

No  truancy  for  one  thing.  One  lady  tells  about  her  boy  of 
twelve  years  crying  because  his  father  kept  him  out  of  school 
during  the  busy  week  preceding  the  holidays,  to  help  in  his 
store. 

Good  lessons  and  learned  without  urging  is  another  result. 
The  children  hunger  and  thirst  to  know. 

And  a  strong,  warm  bond  of  friendship  between  teacher 
and  pupil  is  another  result.  "Governing"  is  easy,  and  the 
whole  machinery  moves  without  a  jog. 

I  meant  to  tell  you  about  her  daily  "  Five  Minute  Lec- 
tures "  on  etiquette,  current  news,  science,  books,  etc.,  but 
can  not  now. 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


34 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  VII. 
GEOGRAPHY. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  13,  188- 
MR. ,  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir:  —  Of  a  truth  "great  minds  run  in  the  same 
channel,"  for  the  subject  under  discussion  at  our  Teachers' 
Meeting  in  September  was  that  of  Geography,  and  behold, 
when  I  received  your  last  favor  it  contained  the  call  for  our 
experience  on  that  topic.  I  had  been  wishing  for  an  excuse 
to  give  you,  in  epitome,  Miss  Preston's  ideas  on  that  very 
subject,  and  now  believe  that  the  excuse  is  no  longer  lacking. 

The  teachers  in  the  primary  grade  were  first  called  upon, 
then  the  junior,  intermediate,  senior  and  grammar  school 
teachers  —  for  geography  is  taught  on  each  separate  round 
of  the  ladder,  not  excepting  the  High  School.  Miss  Preston 
had  charge  of  the  meeting  that  day,  and  consequently  said 
nothing,  as  one  after  another  arose  to  give  his  or  her  experi- 
ence—  for  that  is  how  our  conferences  are  being  conducted 
now  —  nor  did  she  take  any  part  in  the  "free  parliament  " 
which  follows  each  one's  speech,  essay  or  paper.  By  request 
of  Mr.  Johnson,  however,  she  came  in  beautifully  on  the 
"  Amen  "  end  of  the  question,  somewhat  as  follows  : 
Fellow  Teachers : 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  too  much  time  is  spent 
in  teaching  geography.  We  begin  it  in  the  Primary  Depart- 


HOW   TO    TEACH  IT. 


35 


ment  and  continue  it  throughout  the  entire  graduating 
course,  increasing  the  dose  each  year,  "according  to  the 
age  of  the  patient,"  as  the  medical  prescriptions  read,  until 
by  the  time  the  boy  or  girl  is  ready  for  the  High  School,  he 
or  she  has  consumed  many  hours  in  swallowing  geography 
that  should  have  been  given  to  something  else. 

Again  ;  it  is  made  of  too  much  importance.  Geography 
might  be  easily  taught  as  an  incidental,  which  is  all  it  is. 
In  teaching  history  the  places  referred  to  should  be  looked 
up  and  as  much  as  possible  learned  from  maps,  cyclopaedias, 
etc.,  by  the  pupils.  This  knowledge  should  be  supple- 
mented by  the  teacher — every  teacher  being  a  complete 
storehouse  of  geographical  as  well  as  other  knowledge  — 
and  questions  asked  that  will  elicit  what  they  have  learned. 
So  in  reading.  If  the  reading  lesson  refers  to  any  country 
or  product  or  people,  or  to  any  natural  or  political  division 
of  land  or  water,  the  lesson  should  not  be  considered  "  fin- 
ished "  merely  because  well  read,  and  the  definitions  — 
usually  "  blind  leaders  of  the  blind  " —  promptly  given ;  but 
a  careful  description  should  be  given  by  the  teacher  who 
should  call  for  a  written  or  oral  report  of  the  same  next  day 
by  the  class.  Geography,  as  a  secondary  matter,  may  be 
combined  with  many  other  studies,  and  successfully  taught 
and  learned  with  comparatively  little  waste  of  time. 

Again ;  there  is  too  much  "  book  geography "  and  too 
little  real.  There  are  too  many  verbatim  recitations  required 
about  things  but  half  understood.  I  visited  a  summer 
school  during  my  last  vacation,  where  the  first  class  that 
recited  after  my  entrance  was  one  in  geography  —  eleven 
little  boys  and  girls  who  answered,  glibly  and  perfectly, 
about  the  products  and  exports  of  Brazil,  and  who  correctly 


36  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

gave  the  boundaries  and  capital  cities  of  nearly  every  South 
American  division. 

Evidently  the  teacher  was  very  proud  of  the  parrot-like 
recitations,  for  she  turned  to  me  with  glowing  cheeks  and 
flashing  eyes,  inquiring  if  I  did  not  "  think  they  do  pretty 
well  for  so  young  children  ?  "  "I  do  not  remember  that 
they  have  varied  by  a  hair's  breadth  from  the  text,"  I  replied. 
"  Nor  would  they  if  you  were  to  begin  at  the  first  page  and 
question  them  up  to  where  they  are  now  studying,"  she 
replied  proudly. 

I  was  horrified!  Cramming  a  child's  memory  with  words 
which  he  does  not  understand,  facts  which  are  beyond  his 
comprehension,  and  dates  and  figures  that  have  no  meaning 
in  them  except  as  so  much  mental  torture  for  nothing ! 

"Try  it,"  she  urged,  "ask  anything  you  like." 

I  shrank  instinctively  for  I  knew  that  the  result  would  be 
confusing  to  the  pupils  and  embarrassing  to  her,  if  I  stepped 
ever  so  slightly  from  the  path  of  rote  work.  She  persisted, 
and  I  turned  in  despair  to  a  thin  faced,  white  haired  little 
boy  whose  bright  eyes  and  quick,  nervous  movement  had  first 
attracted  my  attention,  and  later,  whose  prompt,  decisive 
replies  had  called  out  an  encomium  from  his  —  shall  I  say 
it?  —  injudicious  teacher. 

"  You  are  the  little  boy  who  recited  about  the  products  of 
Brazil,"  said  I,  "now  can  you  tell  me  what  you  mean  by 
'  products  ? '  " 

He  began  an  enumeration  of  the  products  again,  but  I 
said  : 

"  No  ;  you  do  not  understand  me,  I  think.  When  you 
speak  of  '  products  '  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Those  are  the  products  I  just  told  you,"  he  reaffirmed. 


M/SS  PRESTON'S  PLAN. 


37 


"  Yes,  that  is  true  ;  but  if  I  ask  you  to  tell  me  what  the 
word  means,  will  you  explain  it  to  me  ?  Play  that  I  am  a 
little  girl  and  do  not  know  anything  about  that  big  word. 
Can  you  help  me  understand  it  ?  " 

He  was  silent,  but  smiled  faintly  at  the  idea  of  playing 
anything  in  school.  Presently  a  little  hand  went  up  on  the 
seat  next  to  his,  and  I  said  to  the  little  girl  who  raised  it : 

"  Perhaps  Julia  will  tell  me  ? " 

"  Please,  ma'am,  the  products  is  the  answer  we  get  by 
multiplying  in  our  arithmetics,"  was  the  timid  response,  and 
a  look  of  uncertain  triumph  at  Henry. 

I  did  not  despair  —  but  is  it  not  pitiful  that  teachers  do 
not  make  things  more  real  to  their  pupils  ?  Page  after  page 
is  memorized  mechanically  —  and  is  of  no  use.  I  have  my 
doubts  about  giving  children  a  text  book  at  all  for  this 
study ;  certainly  not  until  they  are  old  enough  to  appreciate 
the  reason  why  the  Mississippi  River  flows  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  it  is  so. 

"What,  then,  is  your  plan  ?  "  inquired  Miss  Sigourney. 

"Well,  I  would  have  maps  and  charts  on  the  wall  for 
ready  reference  in  each  department.  I  would  have  books 
of  history,  travel  and  description  -from  which  1  would  give 
them  '  bits '  of  geographical  instruction.  I  would  have 
scrap  books  filled  with  pictures  of  places  and  people,  and 
newspaper  items  of  important  information  about  different 
lands.  I  would  have  boxes  of  photographs  and  stereo- 
scopic views  of  as  many  cities,  noted  places,  etc.,  as  I  could 
gather.  I  would  teach  by  map  drawing ;  by  comparing  one 
country  with  another,  the  past  with  the  present,  etc.,  never 
omitting  to  find  and  give  the  reason  for  the  barrenness,  fer- 
tility, heat,  cold,  productions  and  general  expression  of  any 


38  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

place  mentioned  or  referred  to  in  each  lesson  of  each  class. 
I  would  once  in  a  while  substitute  a  '  talk '  about  the  civ- 
ilized countries  of  this  century  for  some  other  lesson. 
Another  time  it  might  be  the  discoveries;  and  again  —  if 
the  pupils  were  old  enough  to  take  it  in  —  the  governments. 
In  this  way  they  may  not  learn  the  name  of  every  unimpor- 
tant city,  town  and  village  of  every  European  or  Asiatic 
state,  and  they  may  not  be  able  to  pronounce  every  difficult 
Russian  name  ;  but  they  will  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for 
the  difference  in  character,  civilization  and  progress  when 
there  is  a  difference  in  the  natural  conditions.  They  may 
not  learn  to  '  bound '  every  State  in  our  own  country  to  a 
nicety,  but  they  will  be  able  without  any  trouble  to  tell  why 
the  Eastern  States  were  settled  first ;  why  the  climate  varies 
in  different  sections  and  how  it  affects  the  inhabitants  ;  and 
they  will  have  had  time  to  learn  how  to  care  for  their  own 
bodies,  as  well  as  brains,  which  is  more  than  they  do  now ; 
at  least  I  suppose  the  universal  plea  '  want  of  time '  is  the 
only  reason  we,  as  teachers,  do  not  more  frequently  give 
practical  lessons  in  diet,  dress,  bathing,  exercise,  etc.,  to  our 
pupils.  While  they  are  young  there  is  too  much  geography 
to  leave  time  for  such  specific  instruction,  and  as  they 
become  older  it  is  a  smattering  of  a  dozen  different  sciences 
that  prevents  the  same  thing ;  and  as  a  consequence  we 
send  out  '  the  halt,  the  maimed  and  the  blind  '  with  a  mem- 
ory crammed  with  dates  and  facts  concerning  things  of  no 
practical  value  in  their  after  every-day  life,  and  a  blissful 
( wicked )  ignorance  of  the  laws  that  govern  their  own 
being." 

What   enthusiasm   followed !     Honestly,  I  don't  believe 
that  one  of  us  had  ever  once  thought  we  were  wasting  time 


TIME    WASTED. 


39 


that  did  not  belong  to  us  by  compelling  the  memorizing  of 
whole  pages  of  book  after  book  —  for  as  Miss  Preston  says 
"  There  are  from  three  to  six  books  in  each  series,  and  the 
young  child  is  given  the  first  book  —  learns  it;  —  then  gets 
another  containing  the  same  thing  elaborated — learns  it; 
then  gets  another  and  so  continues  term  after  term." 

Well,  I  ask  you,  in  all  sincerity,  and  earnestly  hope  for  a 
satisfactory  answer :  what  is  the  use  of  all  this  minutiae  ? 
Would  fewer  details  and  more  general  information  be  bet- 
ter? Would  parents  appreciate  the  difference  in  expense, 
and  "take  stock"  in  the  utility  of  substituting  home  train- 
ing for  half  the  usual  amount  of  time  devoted  to  geography 
—  or  would  they  feel  that  Johnnie  was  being  neglected  by 
his  teacher  if  he  came  home  some  night,  eager  to  impart  his 
newly  acquired  information  that  "  I  must  not  take  my  coat 
off  after  running  or  getting  real  warm,  for  my  pores  are  all 
open  then,  and  I  would  take  cold  " —  even  if  he  had  not 
learned  how  many  square  miles  there  are  in  England  —  or 
some  other  place  ( without  any  definite  idea  of  what  a  square 
mile  ts)  or  the  height  of  some  distant  mountain,  or  the 
length  of  some  unnavigable  river  ? 
Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  VIII. 
TEACHERS'   EXAMINATIONS. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  15,  188-. 

MR.  ,  State  Supt.  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  In  these  days  we  are  looking  forward  to 
our  teachers'  meetings  with  feelings  entirely  different  from 
those  we  used  to  experience.  We  are  now  sure  of  learning 
something  that  will  be  a  help  in  our  daily  work,  and  no  more 
time  is  wasted  on  dull  statistics,  nor  on  flights  of  rhetoric 
as  useless  as  they  are  brilliant.  I  will  tell  you  how  another 
wonder  has  been  accomplished  by  Miss  Preston.  I  refer  to 
the  change  effected  in  our  annual  examinations  —  teachers' 
examinations,  I  mean. 

It  is  not  within  the  memory  of  the  deponent  when  it  hath 
not  been  the  custom  to  "  toot  the  horn  " —  that  is,  to  give 
notice  per  daily  paper  —  for  the  assembling  of  the  teachers 
in  the  Town  Hall  for  examination.  Mr.  Johnson  is  the 
•conductor,  and  the  members  of  the  "Board"  sit  apart  on 
the  stage,  grand  and  silent  witnesses  of  the  erudition  of  our 
learned  Superintendent.  To  them  he  is  the  very  embod- 
iment of  knowledge,  and  I  verily  believe  that  at  times  he 
himself  wonders  —  not  that  he  knows  so  little,  but  how  "  one 
"head  can  contain  it  all !  " 

Miss  Preston  came  once  last  year,  but  "fired  up"  when 
Mr.  Johnson  handed  her  papers  back  to  her  marked  "  99^," 
-and  asked  very  calmly  : 


DEFECTS  OF   THE   OLD    WAY.  4I 

"  How  often  is  this  required  of  us?  " 

"Only  once  a  year,"  he  replied. 

"  And  what  is  its  object  ?  "  she  pursued. 

"Why  —  why — it  is  a  provision  of  the  Board,  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  that  all  who  have  been  appointed  are 
qualified  for  their  positions." 

"  But  how  does  this  show  whether  they  are  or  are  not 
qualified  ? " 

"Why,  all  who  fall  below  the  average  standard  of  75  per 
cent  are  dismissed,  and  those  who  reach  it  are  retained." 

"  Who  prepares  the  questions  ?  " 

"/do,"  said  he  testily,  yet  pompously;  "are  they  not  all 
right  ?  " 

"  O,  yes,  certainly.  They  seem  admirably  adapted  for  the 
puzzle  column  of  a  variety  newspaper,  or  as  a  basis  for  the 
game  of  Twenty  Questions."  " 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Miss  Preston  ?  Please  explain  your 
criticism." 

"  Simply  this,  then.  The  questions  are  not  practical,  are 
irrelevant  and,  as  a  rule,  have  no  bearing  on  our  daily  work, 
either  in  theory  or  practice  ;  and  hence  they  cannot  be  a 
criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  personal  qualification ;  and 
by  adopting  it  you  not  only  lose  some  good  teachers,  but 
must  also  retain  some  that  are  good  for  nothing  but  to 
repeat  dates,  facts  and  figures  in  a  machine-like  way,  as  a 
phonograph  or  a  well  drilled  parrot  may  do." 

"  For  instance  ?  " 

"  Well,  for  instance :  you  ask  us  to  name  the  sovereigns  of 
England  chronologically.  Good.  This  we  should  be  able 
to  do ,  but  suppose  that  in  the  rush  of  earnest  strife  to  learn 
the  best  methods  of  meeting  the  wants  of  our  classes,  that 


42  PRESTON   PAPERS. 

item  of  history  has  been  buried  under  the  accumulation  of 
things  more  important.  Will  its  loss  prevent  us  from 
explaining  the  use  of  capital  letters  and  the  decimal  point, 
or  will  its  possession  be  of  any  use  in  seeing  that  our  school 
room  is  properly  heated  and  ventilated  ? 

Again ;  you  call  our  attention  to  historical  characters 
whose  ashes  long  since  helped  fertilize  the  earth  and  vitiate 
the  air,  but  you  ignore  the  great  topics  of  our  own  time  and 
our  own  Government.  You  call  for  Latin  declensions,  and 
do  not  ask  by  what  methods  we  are  seeking  to  teach  the 
Queen's  English  to  those  who  must  use  it  hundreds  of  times 
where  they  will  use  Latin  once.  You  do  not  ask  how,  as 
individuals,  we  teach  one  topic,  nor  by  what  means  we  pro- 
mote the  personal  interests  of  our  pupils. 

What  difference  will  it  make  to  our  Board  of  Education 
though  I  can  solve  every  problem  in  Euclid,  and  yet  have 
no  solution  of  the  greater  one :  '  How  can  I  best  govern 
that  headstrong  boy  of  twelve,  or  that  impertinent  miss  of 
fourteen  ? '  Would  not  a  more  complete  demonstration  of 
my  fitness  for  my  special  position  be  shown  if  I  am  called 
upon  to  specify  the  needs  of  my  own  school,  and  asked  to 
prove  that  I  could  adapt  myself  to  their  supply,  rather  than 
by  a  mechanical  repetition  of  Kepler's  Three  Laws,  or  by  a 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  most  abstruse  topic  in  men- 
tal philosophy?  We  are  dealing  with  boys  and  girls,  the 
every  day  material  whose  product  is  men  and  women.  The 
minds  we  seek  to  educate,  to  guide,  are  immature,  unformed 
—  not  to  be  treated  like  that  of  a  profound  scientist  or  well 
drilled  philosopher." 

"Possibly  you  can  suggest  a  better  plan.  Let  me  hear 
you." 


THE  BEST  METHOD.  43 

"  In  the  first  place,  then,  a  conscientious  teacher  needs  no 
such  stimulus  to  keep  pace  with  the  times.  Her  school, 
with  its  great  and  varied  needs,  will  be  uppermost  in  her 
thoughts,  and  her  powers  will  be  concentrated  in  the  con- 
stant effort  to  do  her  entire  duty  by  it.  All  other  occupa- 
tions, aims  and  ambitions  will  be  of  secondary  importance 
and  made  subservient  to  it. 

Second,  a  visit  to  the  school  is  the  best  examination  patron, 
trustee,  or  superintendent  can  give  a  teacher.  There  the 
work  will  speak  for  itself,  and  by  that  alone  should  a  teacher 
be  commended  or  condemned.  And  again;  if  there  must  be 
examinations,  let  them  be  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the 
work  before  us." 

"Why,  that  would  involve  an  examination  of  teachers 
from  each  grade  separately." 

"  Certainly ;  why  not  ?  Professor  Lowell  is  teaching 
mathematics  only,  and  that  to  young  men  and  women  of 
mature  minds.  His  examination  should  be  far  different 
from  that  of  my  assistant  here,  who  is  dealing  with  child- 
hood and  elementary  studies.  Radicals,  Cube  Root  and 
the  Metric  System  have  positively  no  business  in  her  depart- 
ment ;  so  why  not  let  her  devote  all  her  time  and  energy  to 
bringing  her  own  work  to  perfection  ?  If  we  want  the  latest 
publications  we  do  not  look  for  them  in  a  hardware  store, 
nor  do  we  visit  a  lawyer's  office  to  see  the  newest  fashion 
plates.  We  are  more  consistent  in  nearly  everything  per- 
taining to  our  every  day  life  than  in  that  which  concerns 
our  schools  and  teachers." 

She  is  too  much  for  him  every  time,  and  I  guess  she's 
right  generally,  although  at  first  I  had  my  doubts.  But  our 
"  civil  service  reform  "  has  begun  in  earnest,  and  now  we 


44 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


are  having  better  evidence  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  each 
teacher  for  his  or  her  special  department.  No  senseless 
cramming,  in  view  of  the  much  dreaded  examination  on 
topics  entirely  foreign  to  our  work,  but  study  —  healthy 
study  —  to  adapt  the  means  at  hand  to  the  end  in  view,  and 
more  thoughtful,  earnest  work  among  us  all. 

Perfection  is  not  yet  attained.  There  is  still  too  much 
machine  work,  putting  the  pupils  at  the  upper  end  of  an 
inclined  plane,  giving  a  push  and  setting  them  going ;  but, 
Mr.  Superintendent,  we  are  trying,  we  do  care  and  are  hop- 
ing for  good  results  from  our  united  efforts. 

More  anon  from 

Yours  Very  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


REASONS  FOX.  45 


No.  IX. 

PRIZE  GIVING. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  20,  188-. 

MR. ,  Supt.,  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  We  had  long  ago  decided  to  give  up  our 
November  meeting  to  the  discussion  of  prize  giving,  and 
we  did  so  to  our  mutual  profit.  Mr  Johnson  occupied  the 
chair,  and  we  each  spoke  as  the  spirit  moved  us.  Miss  Wells 
threw  down  the  gauntlet  by  rising  and  saying  with  a  flash : 

"  I  believe  in  giving  prizes,  because  it  stimulates  the  chil- 
dren to  do  their  very  best,  and  renders  urging  unnecessary. 
Then,  too,  it  gives  the  school  something  to  work  for." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure,"  said  Miss  Preston,  "  that  the  reasons 
you  urge  in  its  favor  are  not  the  very  ones  why  it  is  injuri- 
ous. It  does  stimulate  the  children,  surely;  that  is,  a  certain 
portion  of  them;  others  it  discourages,  perhaps  the  very 
ones,  too,  who  need  the  most  encouragement  but  who  are 
disheartened  from  the  outset  by  the  idea  that  a  prize  is  to 
be  given ;  only  one  or  two  can  get  it,  and  there  are  dozens 
in  school  who  are  more  likely  than  themselves  to  merit  it, 
and  therefore  there  is  no  use  in  their  trying.  And  by  calling 
it  'giving  the  school  something  to  work  for,'  we  dress  in  very 
pretty  words  a  painful  fact ;  for,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
the  prize  itself  becomes  the  object  for  which  they  strive, 
forgetful  of  better  purposes." 


46  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

Mr.  Lowell  arose  as  Miss  Preston  resumed  her  seat,  and 
said  : 

"  I  am  surprised.  I  supposed  Miss  Preston  was  a  firm 
believer  in  the  doctrine  of  rewards  and  punishments.  I 
have  heard  her  argue  something  fully  as  orthodox  in  princi- 
ple as  prize  giving.  I  adhere  to  it,  because  it  is  less  trouble 
than  to  manage  any  other  way.  I  offer  the  prize,  on  such 
and  such  conditions,  and  have  no  further  responsibility  as 
to  who  wins  or  loses.  It  is  their  own  lookout." 

"Yes,"  said  Miss  Preston  indignantly;  "we  are  always 
ready  to  shirk  our  responsibilities,  even  in  so  comparatively 
small  matters  as  this.  But  can  we?  Will  we  not  be  held 
responsible,  in  a  measure  at  least,  for  the  feelings  of  envy, 
discontent,  and  discord  that  are  fostered  and  cultivated  by 
our  action  in  this  ?  I  do  believe  in  judicious  rewards  and 
punishments,  but  not  in  indiscriminate  ones.'  I  would  not 
hold  out  to  a  school  as  an  inducement  to  do  well  any  thing 
that  could  not  be  shared  by  all." 

Mr.  Johnson  began  to  look  interested.  "  How  then  would 
you  manage  ?  You  could  not  very  well  give  prizes  to  all. 
Your  salary  would  be  insufficient." 

Miss  Preston  laughed.  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  going  to  the 
poor-house,  because  of  the  little  I  might  spend  in  giving 
my  school  a  simple  pleasure;  and  ways  enough  will  suggest 
themselves  to  every  teacher  whose  heart  is  in  the  work." 

"Please  be  specific,  Miss  Preston,"  said  Miss  Wood,  "for 
I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  prizes  every  year,  and 
have  become  somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the  general  results. 
If  there  is  any  better  way  I  want  it." 

"Any  way  seems  'better'  to  me  than  one  which  draws 
comparisons,  however  indirectly,  as  this  method  does.  It  has 


HOW  PRIZES  ARE   WON. 


47 


the  effect  of  making  the  successful  (if  I  may  use  that  adjec- 
tive in  this  connection)  child  vain  of  its  own  attainments,  by 
being  the  recipient  not  only  of  the  prize  but  of  the  remarks 
and  notice  which  follow  —  and  as  a  rule  a  prize  winner 
becomes  self-satisfied  and  self-sufficient  to  such  a  degree 
as  almost  to  preclude  better  influences,  even  sometimes 
causing  a  cessation  from  further  effort ;  and  the  others  are 
needlessly  made  jealous  of  the  successful  child  or  painfully 
morbid  concerning  their  own  stupidity,  when  in  fact  they 
may  not  be  nearly  as  dull  as  the  one  who  received  the  prize; 
or  when,  as  happens  in  many  instances,  those  who  do  not  get 
the  reward  only  lose  it  because  they  are  more  conscientious. 
For  instance :  I  offer  a  prize  to  my  arithmetic  class,  to  be 
given  to  the  one  who  has  the  most  perfect  lessons.  Fanny 
is  glib,  and  has  a  memory  which  assists  in  perfect  recita- 
tions, together  with  an  easy  conscience  which  permits  her 
to  answer  '  Perfect '  at  roll  call  if  she  has  not  missed  any 
question,  although  she  knew  that  she  would  miss  if  certain 
other  questions  had  been  asked.  George,  in  the  same  class 
is  somewhat  slow  of  speech,  perhaps  slow  to  understand, 
but  industrious  and  faithful.  Then  too,  '  perfect '  has  a 
fullness  of  meaning  for  him  that  has  never  entered  into  the 
heart  of  Fanny  ;  and,  although  he  has  spent  more  real 
work  on  the  lesson  than  she,  he  is  too  conscientious  to  say 
'  Perfect '  even  if  he  has  answered  every  question  that  was 
given  him.  He  is  not  content,  with  his  superficial  knowl- 
edge of  the  lesson,  to  call  it  perfect,  even  for  the  sake  of  the 
prize  which  he  must  see  pass  into  the  hands  of  one  whom  he 
knows  is  no  more  deserving  than  himself." 

"  You  do  not  think,  then,  that  a  teacher  will  gain  the  love 
of  his  pupils  in  this  way  ? "  queried  Mr.  Johnson. 


48  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  Certainly  not.  Do  you  necessarily  love  the  one  who 
pays  what  is  justly  your  due  ?  By  no  means.  If  you  make 
a  coat  or  boots,  a  chair  or  machine  for  a  person,  you  earn 
your  pay ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  you  have  any  affection 
for  the  one  who  offers  so  much  for  so  much.  So  children 
who  get  prizes  receive  them  as  their  honest  due,  if  hon- 
estly gained;  and  the  giver  has  little  or  no  place  in  their 
consideration. 

Besides,  I  do  not  think  it  wise  to  inculcate  a  belief  that 
a  child  should  be  paid  for  doing  his  best.  It  lowers  the 
standard  of  'Right  for  right's  sake,'  and  gives  the  impression 
that  right  is  the  exception,  wrong  the  rule." 

"  And  what  would  you  offer  in  place  of  prize  giving  ? " 

"  Free  communion  and  association  between  teachers  and 
pupils.  I  would  gain  their  love  and  sympathy  by  entering 
into  their  duties  and  pastimes  outside  of  school.  I  would 
show  myself  their  friend,  by  my  interest  in  their  individual 
selves,  not  only  at  school  during  stndy  hours  and  in  their 
classes;  but  on  the  play-ground,  at  recess,  at  home,  on  the 
street,  everywhere." 

Much  more  was  said,  pro  and  con,  but  I  shall  leave  it  to 
report  some  other  time,  for  I  want  to  tell  you  how  Miss 
Preston  manages,  as  she  is  too  modest  to  even  speak  of  her 
own  peculiar  methods,  even  in  our  Association.  She  doesn't 
give  prizes,  but  she  does  give  pleasure ;  pleasures  that  fall 
"alike  upon  the  just  and  unjust  "  and  forever  prevent  any 
criticism  for  showing  partiality.  The  only  distinction  she 
ever  makes  is  to  give  special  attention  to  the  poor,  the 
repulsive,  the  most  disagreeable  ones  —  those  who  are  the' 
most  friendless,  by  reason  of  their  condition  or  conduct. 
But  how  ?  Well,  for  instance,  last  year  there  was  an  unusual 


CHRISTMAS  PLANS. 


49 


number  of  poor  children  in  our  ward,  which  is  largely  settled 
by  a  foreign  population  —  many  of  them  day  laborers,  and 
some  of  them  even  worse  than  that,  having  no  steady  em- 
ployment, and  some  miserable  drunkards.  As  the  holidays 
approached  and  we  were  all  busy  talking  over  our  plans  for 
Christmas,  Miss  Preston  said  to  me  one  day :  "  I  would  like 
to  do  something  for  my  school  for  Christmas.  Many  of 
them  will  not  have  a  thing  to  make  the  day  memorable;  and 
some  of  them  I'm  afraid  will  suffer  from  cold  and  hunger." 

"What  is  your  plan?  I'd  like  to  help"  —  for  by  that 
time  I  had  begun  to  appreciate  her  and  to  care  more  for 
my  classes. 

"Come  home  with  me  to-night,"  said  she,  "and  we  will 
.talk  it  over."  I  did.  On  the  way  she  stopped  at  a  confec- 
tioner's and  ordered  twenty-five  pounds  of  candy,  assorted, 
pure,  and  of  the  best  quality.  Next  she  bought  a  large 
basket  of  corn  to  pop  and  she  engaged  a  big  boy  whom  she 
saw  on  one  of  the  street  corners  to  do  the  work  for  her. 
After  tea,  I  helped  her  put  the  candy  into  white  paper  cor- 
nucopias, which  we  rolled  up;  seventy-five  of  them,  one  for 
each  child. 

The  day  that  school  was  to  close  for  our  week's  vacation, 
she  asked  the  children  if  they  knew  what  anniversary  would 
be  celebrated  the  following  Sunday,  and  after  a  little  talk 
she  read  a  Christmas  poem  to  them,  and  I  read  a  Christmas 
story.  A  knock  at  the  door  was  answered  by  her,  and  old 
Santa  Claus  himself  came  in,  bearing  a  huge  basket  on  each 
arm.  He  was  invited  to  a  place  on  the  stage,  from  whence 
he  informed  the  wondering  children  that  he  visited  them  by 
request  of  their  teachers,  etc.,  etc. 

I  can  not  picture  the  enthusiasm  that  prevailed ;  nor  can 
4 


50  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

any  one  say  where  the  influence  of  her  happy  thought  will 
end,  for,  as  each  boy  and  girl  received  a  package  of  candy 
and  a  dish  of  pop  corn,  there  was  no  jealousy,  no  bitter 
feelings  of  strife  or  envy  —  nothing  but  pure  love,  such  as  is 
felt  by  the  Christ  whose  birth  is  celebrated  each  returning 
year.  I  do  not  know  which  was  the  happier,  teacher  or 
pupils.  I  only  know  that  she  makes  the  most  of  her  oppor- 
tunities to  do  them  good.  She  goes  on  little  fishing,  nutting, 
and  flower-hunting  excursions  with  them,  and  each  of  these 
she  makes  an  occasion  for  instruction  of  some  sort ;  and  I 
know  that  many  a  boy  is  indebted  to  her  for  his  real  polite- 
ness of  manner,  and  many  a  girl  owes  to  her  her  pleasant 
recognition  of  the  small  courtesies  of  life.  Two  or  three 
weeks  since,  when  we  had  our  first  fall  of  snow,  she  hired 
horses,  drivers,  and  long  sleighs  enough  to  take  her  entire 
school,  including  myself  and  classes,  for  an  afternoon's  ride. 

Do  these  things  pay  ?  Yes,  she  is  paid  every  day,  by  the 
progress  of  her  school  —  by  their  devotion  to  her,  and  by 
their  higher  moral  standard ;  for  her  character  has  not  been 
without  its  effect  on  their  moral  perceptions. 

There  is  much  more  of  which  I  would  like  to  tell  you,  but 
have  not  time.  One  thought,  however,  comes  to  me  more  and 
more  frequently,  Why  are  not  more  teachers  like  her?  Why 
am  /  not  ?  ( Rather  why  was  I  not,  for  by  association  with 
her  so  long  I  am  taking  on  some  of  her  methods,  although 
I  can  never  hope  to  attain  to  her  hight. )  Why  did  I  never 
think  of  these  things  before  ?  Why  were  not  my  own  teach- 
ers of  this  sort?  Is  she  a  rara  avis?  If  so,  why? 
Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PESTALOZZr^   LAWS.  51 


No.  X. 

NUMBER. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  January  16,  188-. 
MR. ,  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  I  am  glad  that  some  one  wants  to  know 
how  Primary  Arithmetic  should  be  taught,  as  that  is  just 
what  interested  us  at  our  Teachers'  Meeting  in  December. 
We  are  actually  learning  how  to  teach. 

I  will  not  give  all  the  old  stereotyped  "  methods  "  ad- 
vanced by  some  of  our  number,  as  all  gave  way  before  Miss 
Preston's  better  ones.  Mr.  Johnson  had  seen  one  of  the 
trustees  where  she  taught  several  years  ago,  and  had  been 
told  by  him  that  she  was  the  most  successful  teacher  of  pri- 
mary studies  they  had  ever  known ;  and  this  gave  Mr.  John- 
son an  excuse  for  calling  her  out.  He  is  really  waking  up 
to  her  great  value,  and  seems  to  depend  upon  her  sugges- 
tions. His  questions  elicited  something  like  the  following  : 

"Our  first  object  should  be  to  get  down  to  the  child.  It  is 
a  long  step  from  their  plane  of  vision  to  ours,  and  we  should 
so  express  ourselves  as  to  be  at  once  understood  by  the  lit- 
tle ones.  Then  we  will  follow  Pestalozzi's  laws  '  From  the 
concrete  to  the  abstract ;  from  the  known  to  the  unknown ; 
from  the  simple  to  the  compound,'  and  we  shall  have  no 
trouble  in  teaching  Primary  Arithmetic,  nor  anything  else.' 


S2  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

A  chorus  of  voices  clamored  for  illustrations,  and  after 
some  hesitation  she  continued  : 

"  Of  course  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  teach  them  to 
count.     This  should  be  done  concretely  —  never  abstractly 
at  first.     We  may  begin  asking  how  many  hands  each  one 
has;    how  many    feet,   eyes,    ears,  noses,  tongues,  fingers, 
thumbs,  etc.     Then  lines  may  be  drawn  upon  the  board, 
and  they  may  count  them  as  the  teacher  points  to  them, 
never  allowing  them  to  count  more  than  the  lines  shown, 
nor  faster  than  pointed  out.     This  will  give  them  instinc- 
tively, an  idea  of  the  relative  worth  of  numbers  —  a  very 
important  item.     Afterwards  they  may  be  allowed  to  count 
abstractly,  and  then  drilled  on  the  relative  value  of  numbers 
by  the  teacher  writing  8,  4,  3,  etc.  on  the  board  ;  each  time 
that  two  numbers  are  put  thereon,  asking  them  to  tell  which 
is  of  the  greater  value,  and  which  the  lesser.     After  a  short 
time,  they  may  call  out  when  the  teacher  pronounces  two 
numbers  as,  12,  7.     These  exercises  should  always  go  back- 
ward also.     For  instance,  when  they  have  learned  by  the 
use  of   apples,  pencils,  fingers,  beans,  or  stones    to  count 
four,  they  should  be  taught  in  the  same  way,  by  use  of  the 
same  means,  to  count  from  four  to  one.     Be  very  sure  not 
to  count  from  one  to  ten  with  apples,  and  then  from  ten 
backwards  with  something  else.     Use   the  same  thing  for 
each  process,  to  prevent  any  confusion  in  the  children's  mind. 
After  they  have  learned  to  count  any  number,  and  can  dis- 
tinguish the  figure  or  figures  that  represent  it,  they  may  be 
taught   to  write   the  number  themselves.     For  instance,  I 
hold   up   three   crayons ;    '  How   many  crayons   have    I  ? ' 
'Three  crayons.'     (Always  insist  on  a  complete  answer.     If 
they  say  '  Three,'  in  response  to  your  question,  you  may  ask 


TEACHING  ADDITION,  ETC.  53, 

'  Three  what  ?  Three  cents  ? '  and  after  a  few  illustrations 
of  this  kind  they  will  get  into  the  way  of  complete  replies.) 
'  Very  well,  I  will  make  the  number  on  the  blackboard  and 
you  may  make  it  on  your  slates,  You  may  each  make  three 
33,  and  John  may  go  to  the  board  and  make  his.  Next 
time  some  one  else  may  go.'  How  eager  they  will  be,  and 
how  deeply  interested  !  Dry  and  dull  ?  Tired?  Don't  like 
to  go  to  school  ?  Hate  numbers  ?  No  ;  these  things  you 
need  never  hear.  Having  learned  to  count,  to  read  and 
write  small  numbers  readily,  I  would  teach  addition,  sub- 
traction, multiplication  and  division  of  those  numbers  to- 
gether." 

"  Why,  Miss  Preston !  What  a  dreadful  dose  that  would 
be,"  said  Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Not  at  all !  "  she  replied  with  a  smile.  "  I  would  not 
give  a  child  a  book  with  the  '  table '  of  8s,  for  instance,  and 
compel  him  to  learn  '  i  and  8  is  9 ;  2  and  8  is  10 ;  3  from  & 
leaves  5  ;  6  times  8  is  48;  2  is  contained  in  8  4  times.' 
That  would 'be  a  dose.  So  is  any  '  table '  of  abstract  figures. 
All  a  child's  early  instruction  should  come  through  some 
bodily  sense  ;  hence,  I  would  take  the  seeds,  apples,  stones 
or  what  not  that  we  had  been  using,  and  select  eight  as  they 
counted  them.  '  Now  let  us  see  what  we  can  do  with  these 
eight  apples.'  Let  them  count,  say  two  more  from  the  gen- 
eral pile,  and  put  them  with  the  eight  already  counted. 
'  Now  you  may  count  them  all.'  This  done,  they  have 
found  for  themselves  the  truth  that  '8  and  2  is  10.'  It  is  a 
grand  thing  for  them.  Their  eyes  sparkle,  and  they  are 
hungry  for  more.  You  may  put  the  fact  into  form  for  them 
on  the  board,  while  they  copy  the  same  on  their  slates. 
Now,  removing  the  surplus,  two  apples  from  the  eight> 


54  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

we  will  see  what  counting  backwards  from  eight  will  do  for 
us.  '  Here  we  have  the  same  eight  apples.  As  you  count  I 
will  take  away  two.  We  call  this  subtraction,  because  it 
means  taking  away.  How  many  apples  have  we  left  ? ' 
Write  on  the  board  in  the  same  manner  as  before  and  let 
the  little  ones  follow  on  their  slates,  inspecting  their  work, 
giving  hints  as  to  size  and  shape  of  figures,  use  of  signs, 
general  appearance,  neatness,  etc.  They  have  now  learned 
that '  2  from  8  leaves  six,'  therefore  '  2  and  6  must  be  8  ;  and 
only  half  the  time  has  been  used  that  would  have  been  in 
the  old  way.  Go  right  on  with  the  same  general  form  for 
multiplication  and  division,  using  two  and  eight  as  the  num- 
bers with  which  to  work.  One  caution  may  be  necessary 
right  here  :  you  may  become  so  interested  and  enthusiastic 
yourself  as  to  forget  the  wonderful  smallness  of  the  minds 
with  which  you  are  dealing,  and  give  them  too  much  at  a 
time.  Be  very  careful  about  this.  Do  not  sacrifice  quality 
to  quantity.  Let  the  lessons  be  short  and  frequent,  and  the 
progress  will  be  rapid  and  satisfactory." 

Verily,  she  was  that  moment  a  living  exposition  of  her 
own  words,  for  she  sat  down  tired  out,  and  each  of  her  lis- 
teners had  that  tense,  strained  look  of  overwrought  minds ! 
It  was  like  a  new  revelation  to  us  !  Teach  in  that  way,  with 
our  whole  soul  and  strength  and  mind  and  might?  Teach 
without  books,  without  the  old  ease  of  announcing  a  lesson, 
hearing  it  "recited,"  and  then  dismissing  it  without  a  fur- 
ther thought  ?  Why,  the  perfect  mastery  of  that  one  sub- 
ject and  the  method  of  presenting  it  to  the  juvenile  mind 
must  have  involved  hours  of  patient  study,  such  as  we  had 
never  dreamed  of  giving  to  anything  so  commonplace ! 
We  did  not  wonder  that  she  grew  thin  over  her  work,  for 


PROMOTION.  55 

she  put  her  very  life  into  it.     Nor  did  we  wonder  again  that 
she  was  always  spoken  of  as  a  "grand  success!  "  nor  that 
she  commands  a  salary  and   is  constantly  promoted,  while 
others  are  left  to  drone,  dream  and  drudge  over  their  work. 
We  have  so  many  topics  on  hand  for  discussion  that  we 
contemplate  semi-monthly  meetings.     But,  I  must  close,  for 
I  want  to  read  my  new  "Educational    Report,"  so  kindly 
sent  by  you,  and  see  what  I  can  there  find  for  my  school. 
Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XI. 

PRIMARY  ARITHMETIC. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  22,  188-. 
MR.  SUPERINTENDENT  : 

Since  the  subject  of  Arithmetic  has  been  proposed  for 
•elucidation,  and  I  have  already  given  you  a  general  idea  of 
how  Miss  Preston  starts  the  little  ones  up  this  "Hill  Diffi- 
culty,"  it  may  be  well  for  me  to  go  on  and  tell  you  how  the 
light  from  her  lamp  shone  on  my  path  and  helped  me  over 
an  otherwise  trying  place.  It  was  when  I  first  knew  her, 
and  before  I  had  gained  any  confidence  in  her  methods  of 
teaching.  I  had  taught  so  long,  and  in  the  old,  stereotyped 
•vvay,  that  I  did  my  work  mechanically  and  frowned  upon 
innovations  as  upon  a  personal  infringement.  She  came  to 
the  door  of  the  recitation  room  one  afternoon  to  invite  me 
to  take  a  walk.  She's  a  rare  pedestrian  and  makes  it  a  daily 
•exercise,  generally  walking  several  miles.  I  am  getting  in 
the  way  of  it  myself  now,  although  at  that  time  I  had  not 
realized  its  wonderful  benefits  as  I  have  since.  That  day  I 
was  tired  and  cross,  and  had  kept  a  little  boy  from  one  of 
the  beginning  classes  after  school,  because  he  had  failed  to 
.get  his  examples;  and  to  his  assurances  that  he  did  not 
understand  them,  I  only  vouchsafed  the  calm  suggestion 
that  he  "  must  be  very  dull." 

I  would  not  "  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  "  by  such  ar 


ILL  USTRA  TIONS. 


57 


answer  to  their  appeal  for  help  to-day,  but  I  was  completely 
oblivious  then  to  everything  except  the  sense  of  drudgery 
which  my  work  imposed  upon  me.  I  did  not  offer  him  any 
assistance,  but  cut  the  leaves  of  "  A  Reverend  Idol "  and 
coldly  read  while  he  pored  over  his  book. 

After  waiting  a  few  moments  Miss  Preston  asked  if  she 
might  speak  with  Henry,  and  I  gave  her  an  ungracious 
"  Certainly."  She  ignored  my  manner,  and  sitting  down  at 
Henry's  desk,  talked  with  him  something  like  the  following  • 

Miss  Preston.     Are  your  examples  very  hard  to-day  ? 

Henry.  They  are  not  very  hard,  I  guess,  for  the  other 
boys  all  had  them. 

Miss  P.     Do  you  understand  them  ? 

H.  No,  ma'am ;  not  when  I  have  to  take  8  from  3.  I  can 
do  the  other  kind  well  enough,  taking  3  from  8,  and  such, 
but  I  don't  see  how  I  can  take  8  from  3. 

Miss  P.  Ah,  yes.  I  see  your  trouble.  Now  please  hand 
me  that  tin  cup  by  the  water  pail.  I  thank  you.  I  want  a 
drink  from  it,  but  I  see  that  it  is  empty.  What  shall  I  do  ? 
I  am  very  thirsty;  but  I  cannot  drink  from  an  empty  cup 
nor  from  one  that  has  only  three  dropsy^,  it,  for  I  need  much 
more  to  quench  my  thirst. 

H.  (With  animation.)  Why,  I  can  get  some  for  you 
from  the  pail. 

Miss  P.     But  suppose  the  pail  is  empty  ? 

H.     Why  then  I  would  go  to  the  faucet  down  in  the  base 
ment,  and  get  a  pailful. 

Miss  P.  That  wouldn't  do  any  good.  I  only  want  a 
cupful. 

H.  Well,  I  can  bring  you  a  cupful  from  the  pail,  when  it 
is  full ! 


5 8  PRESTON  PAPERS, 

Miss  P.  Just  so.  Now  let  us  see  if  we  can  not  do  the 
same  in  your  example.  You  can't  take  8  from  3 ;  but  per- 
haps we  can  go  to  the  pail  and  fill  our  cup.  Ah,  no.  Our 
next  figure  is  a  cipher.  Our  pail  is  empty.  What  shall  we 
do  ?  Go  to  the  faucet  of  course,  fill  our  pail  and  come  back. 
Beyond  our  cipher  stands  a  4  on  purpose  for  us  to  use. 
Now,  if  I  take  one  of  these  hundreds,  how  many  tens  is  it 
worth  ? 

H.     Why,  ten  tens. 

Miss  P.  Good.  Now  instead  of  the  cipher  we  have  10. 
We  can  fill  the  cup  from  the  pail.  So  now  we  will  take  one 
of  these  tens  ( equal  to  ten  units )  and  add  it  to  the  three 
units  we  already  have,  giving  us  13  units.  Now  can  you 
take  8  from  13? 

H.  Ohr  yes,  and  it  leaves  5.  -Why  isn't  that  funny!  It's 
just  like  a  poor  man  without  money,  begging  from  some  one 
with  a  pocketful. 

Miss  P.  Just  so.  Now  you  have  3  to  take  from  9  where 
your  cipher  stood. 

H.     And  it  leaves  6  ! 

Miss  P.  Now  here  is  our  4,  with  a  2  below  it.  What 
will  you  do  ? 

H.     Why  (after  some  meditation),  4  gave  away  part  of  his. 

Miss  P.     Yes.     How  much  has  he  left  ? 

H.     Why,  3.     So  we  can  say  "  2  from  3." 

Miss  P.     Do  you  think  you  "see  through  "  it  now  ? 

H.  (With  great  enthusiasm.)  Why, yes,  ma'am.  I  can't 
help  getting  my  examples  now. 

Which  was  true.  And  /  couldn't  help  catching  the  fire, 
nor  have  I  been  able  to  keep  out  of  it  since.  When  we 
came  to  fractions  she  showed  me  how  to  illustrate  the  value 


ENTHUSIASM  AND   ORDER. 


59 


of  numerator  and  denominator  by  things  visible,  apples, 
oranges,  etc.,  until  the  facts  were  so  plain  I  began  to  think 
I  had  never  before  half  comprehended  them  myself. 

So  with  compound  numbers.  Under  her  advice  I  bor- 
rowed a  set  of  gill,  pint,  quart,  and  gallon  cups  at  the  hard- 
ware store  and  let  the  children  learn  for  themselves  the 
relative  value  of  each  measure,  and  then  construct  their  own 
tables,  backward  as  well  as  forward.  For  instance:  we  first 
filled  the  gallon  measure  and  found  it  would  fill  the  quart 
cup  four  times,  so  "  i  gallon  makes  4  quarts;  4  quarts  make 
i  gallon." 

Actually,  I  borrowed  small  scales  after  that,  and  taught 
them  to  weigh,  using  sand,  which  Miss  Preston  calls  "  clean 
dirt." 

So  with  everything  —  long,  square,  and  cubic  measure  set 
them  all  to  buying  the  penny  tape  measures,  and  finding  the 
length,  hight,  and  width,  of  everything  in  and  around  the 
school  house  and  yard.  And  I  was  nearly  as  enthusiastic 
as  they,  and  by  practicing  became  expert  enough  to  esti- 
mate the  size  of  anything  with  a  degree  of  accuracy  hitherto 
unknown. 

Order  ?  No,  I  do  not  think  my  recitations  were  con- 
ducted with  as  good  order  ( in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  word)  as  before  —  but  the  pupils  learned,  and  have  been 
learning  ever  since,  until  I  have  come  to  believe  that  the 
fairy  "Order"  has  been  grossly  misrepresented,  as  a  tyrant 
to  whom  it  was  necessary  to  sacrifice  everything  else.  The 
order  that  prevails  in  my  school  now  is  of  a  far  different 
(and  I  hope  better)  type  than  that  which  formerly  compelled 
my  pupils  to  sit  in  a  stated  position,  and  if  called  upon  to 
recite  to  do  it  in  one  special  way  and  in  no  other. 


60  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

One  more  illustration  of  Miss  Preston's  genius  in  teaching 
arithmetic,  and  I  will  close.  One  of  the  teachers  came  to 
her  the  other  day  after  our  Association  meeting,  and  said  : 

"  Miss  Preston,  you  spoke  of  having  the  children  count 
backward  as  well  as  forward.  Will  you  kindly  illustrate  ?  " 

"With  pleasure;  "  and  turning  right  around  to  the  black- 
board she  drew  a  flight  of  stairs  in  outline,  placing  a  cipher 
on  the  lowest,  a  figure  i  on  the  next,  2  on  the  next,  and  so 
up  to  10.  All  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  write  it,  she  had 
continued : 

"From  o  to  10  I  call  'going  up  stairs;'  from  10  to  o 
'going  down  stairs.'  It  is  a  favorite  illustration  because 
simple,  quick,  and  a  pleasing  conceit  for  the  children ;  and 
they  certainly  learn  to  add,  subtract,  multiply,  and  divide 
numbers  more  quickly  and  with  more  intelligence  by  means 
of  some  such  thing,  than  abstractly." 

As  they  progress,  she  takes  other  numbers;  for  instance 
the  stairs  will  be  filled  with  2  and  its  multiples — or  3,  4,  5,  10, 
12,  according  to  the  previous  development.  The  orders  of 
units  she  illustrates  by  bundles  of  sticks,  similar  to  matches 
in  shape  and  size ;  ten  in  a  bundle  to  represent  units  ;  ten 
bundles  to  represent  tens,  etc.  She  has  "  faculty ; "  and 
no  matter  what  she  teaches,  she  does  so  from  the  child's 
standpoint. 

Oh,  I  want  to  tell  you  about  her  methods  in  teaching 
grammar,  but  cannot  now. 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


DREAD   OF   THE   WORD.  6 1 


No.  XII. 
COMPOSITIONS. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  March  16,  188-. 
STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  : 

My  Dear  Sir  : — Yes,  sir ;  our  February  meeting  discussed 
"Compositions,"  as  you  suggested,  Mr.  Johnson  presiding. 
Mr.  Lowell  spoke  first,  and  with  more  energy  than  I  had 
ever  before  seen  him  exhibit : 

"  I  hate  the  word,  and  dread  composition  day  even  more 
than  my  pupils  do,  if  that  is  possible." 

Miss  Preston  laughed  softly,  and  then  inquired  if  under 
those  circumstances  he  was  successful  in  obtaining  good 
compositions  ? 

"  O,  fair,"  he  replied,  "  I  think  they  are  about  as  composi- 
tions average.  I  do  not  see  the  sense,  myself,  in  insisting 
upon  boys  and  girls  writing  compositions,  when  they  have 
not  half  a  dozen  ideas  among  the  whole  class ;  and  I  have 
more  than  once  petitioned  that  the  subject  be  dropped  from 
the  course  of  study  in  my  department." 

"  May  I  inquire  about  the  method  you  use  ?  " 

*'  Certainly.  In  the  first  place  I  require  one  from  each 
pupil  every  month.  That  gives  me  all  the  trouble  I  want 
with  them,  for  it  is  like  pulling  eye-teeth  to  get  a  decent 
composition  from  some  of  them." 

"  Do  they  select  their  own  subjects?  " 


02  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  No,  I  tried  that,  but  found  it  did  not  work  satisfactorily. 
Nearly  all  were  troubled  to  think  of  a  subject,  or  what  to 
say  about  it  when  they  did." 

"  Who  reads  them  ?  " 

"  Each  one  reads  his  own.  I  give  them  half  an  hour  in 
which  to  write,  and  they  spend  the  rest  of  the  time  in  read- 
ing what  they  have  written." 

"  And  who  corrects  them  ? " 

*'  Oh,  we  are  none  of  us  critical  enough  for  that.  It  is 
hard  enough  to  get  the  writing  done  in  the  first  place,  with- 
out worrying  about  it  afterward." 

"Just  my  mind,"  chimed  in  Miss  Wood.  "And  I  do 
not  fancy  trying  to  turn  my  school  room  into  a  shop  for 
making  poets  and  essayists.  It  involves  more  friction  than 
anything  else  in  my  school,  except  my  constant  warfare  on 
whispering." 

Oh,  how  I  longed  to  hear  Miss  Preston  speak !  Why  our 
composition  days  are  a  real  treat  to  us ;  and  as  for  making 
drudgery  of  it  —  well,  it  is  a  pleasure.  But  Miss  Wells  was 
the  next  speaker. 

"  I  think  it  is  a  good  thing,  myself,  although  I  am  not  very 
successful  in  that  line. " 

"How  do  you  manage?"  queried  Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Oh,  Wednesday  of  each  week  is  our  '  Composition 
Day,'  and  I  have  a  certain  space  on  the  blackboard  where 
the  subject  is  found  written  out  for  each  week.  I  call  for 
not  less  than  about  five  hundred  words,  and  impose  a  pen- 
alty for  remissness. " 

Then  Miss  Preston  inquired :  "  What  is  the  usual  style  of 
your  topics  ?  " 

"  Last  week  we  had  '  The  Pleasures  of  Memory,'  and  the 


WRONG  METHODS.  63 

week  before  '  The  Advantages  of  Education.'     Next  week 
we  are  to  have  '  Ambition."  " 

"  Do  they  do  their  own  work  ? " 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?" 

"I  mean,"  said  Miss  Preston,  slowly,  "do  they  write  out 
their  own  ideas  of  these  abstractions,  or  do  they  merely  copy 
the  sentiments  of  some  one  else  ?  " 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,  they  undoubtedly  get  all  the  help  they 
can  from  their  friends.  Indeed,  I  have  known  them  to  copy 
an  article  verbatim  from  print;  but  I  am  not  bound  to  con- 
vict them  without  proof  positive  of  their  guilt,  and  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  I  cannot  furnish  this  —  even  if  morally  cer- 
tain that  the  articles  are  not  their  own." 

"  Then  what  is  the  object  of  the  exercise  ?  We  only  gain 
power  by  putting  forth  power,  and  if  that  is  not  done  the 
object  of  writing  compositions  is  lost." 

"  I  have  never  entered  into  the  question  of  effect  in  my 
plans  for  pupils,"  said  Miss  Wells,  "but  if  any  one  can  sug- 
gest an  improvement  on  my  way  I  am  open  to  conviction." 

Mr.  Johnson  looked  doubtfully  toward  Miss  Preston,  and 
with  some  hesitation  said :  "  Perhaps  Miss  Preston  will  help 
us  out." 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  can,"  she  replied  with  a  smile  ; 
"but  my  impression  is  that  we  invest  the  exercise  with  too 
much  formality.  In  the  first  place  we  select  subjects  en- 
tirely beyond  the  range  of  an  ordinary  child's  thought,  and 
then  insist  upon  a  set  number  of  lines  or  words  and  say, 
'Write.'  By  this  we  induce  them  to  hate  the  work,  and  to 
cheat  themselves  by  avoiding  it;  or,  almost  as  bad,  we  permit 
them  to  write  in  a  style  entirely  foreign  to  themselves,  and 
one  which  is  injurious  in  its  effect  on  their  habits  of  writing." 


64  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  How  can  we  avoid  these  serious  results  ? "  queried  our 
superintendent. 

"  You  may  well  call  them  serious,  and  we  must  study  how 
to  avoid  them.  I  do  not  think  I  have  any  set  method  ;  rather 
let  the  occasion  make  the  method.  For  instance,  if  my  his- 
tory class  has  had  a  lesson  of  unusual  interest  or  value,  and 
I  wish  to  impress  it  upon  the  minds  of  my  pupils,  I  ask  them 
to  put  their  thoughts  of  the  person,  place  or  circumstance 
into  words  of  their  own.  Sometimes  they  use  their  slates, 
sometimes  the  blackboard,  and  frequently  it  is  an  oral  exer- 
cise. Then  if  I  find  it  desirable  to  be  more  elaborate  I  ask 
them  to  copy  them  on  paper,  and  after  looking  over  and 
correcting  them,  I  select  one  or  more  to  be  read  in  public  at 
our  next  reception,  and  perhaps  some  will  be  requested  for 
our  weekly  paper.  So  with  my  other  classes.  If  my  arith- 
metic class  has  surmounted  a  difficulty,  it  is  easy  for  them 
to  write  of  their  struggle  and  of  the  victory  gained.  Some- 
times the  current  events  furnish  better  topics  than  anything 
else  could ;  for  instance,  Garfield's  assassination  and  death 
filled  every  pupil  in  my  school  at  that  time  with  unlimited 
food  for  thought.  The  recent  floods  in  Pennsylvania  have 
also  been  prolific  of  topics ;  the  distress  they  have  caused, 
the  damage  done,  etc.,  etc.  The  great  fire  at  Seattle  and 
the  Quebec  disaster  were  equally  useful  in  supplying  themes 
for  the  juvenile  pens.  The  unexpected  results  of  the  No- 
vember election  brought  out  political  and  temperance  com- 
positions by  the  score.  I  seldom  give  them  an  abstract 
subject  —  never  without  first  preparing  them  for  it  by  a 
familiar  talk  with  them  concerning  the  thing  to  be  dis- 
cussed, and  I  sometimes  find  it  necessary  to  give  them  sev- 
eral days  in  which  to  look  it  up.  Sometimes  I  read  them  a 


NOT  A   BUGBEAR.  65 

short  story  or  poem,  and  call  for  a  paraphrase  ;  but  under 
all  circumstances  I  would  first  seek  to  inspire  them  with 
interest  and  enthusiasm,  and  this  done  there  is  no  trouble 
in  securing  ideas  or  the  expression  of  them.  My  work  is 
then  to  give  them  hints  as  to  style,  rules  for  capitalizing,  etc." 

Trouble  in  securing  ideas,  or  their  expression  !  I  should 
think  not,  indeed !  Why  the  one  or  two  whose  productions 
are  selected  for  public  reading  are  so  highly  honored  by  the 
distinction  thus  conferred  upon  them  that  each  one  strives 
to  do  his  best.  Then  Miss  Preston  keeps  a  big  drawer,  on 
purpose  for  all  the  compositions  that  are  given  her  by  her 
pupils  after  she  has  corrected,  and  they  copied,  signed  and 
dated  them.  For  convenience,  they  are  spread  out  in  the 
covers  of  an  old  geography  and  are  supposed  to  be  free  to 
exhibit  to  visitors  who  want  to  know  how  the  school  pros- 
pers ;  or  they  can  be  used  for  public  or  private  rhetorical 
exercises,  or  for  whatever  purpose  she  deems  best. 

Miss  Preston  does  not  make  a  bugbear  of  the  work,  as 
most  of  it  is  voluntary ;  and  if  she  assigns  a  topic  to  anyone, 
or  to  a  class,  it  is  because  of  their  peculiar  fitness  for  the 
theme,  and  their  interest  in  it.  She  has  been  requested  to 
bring  some  samples  to  our  next  meeting,  and  I  know  of  sev- 
eral fine  historical  essays  produced  by  her  pupils  last  term, 
which  I  hope  she  will  take. 

But  I  must  leave  this  interesting  subject ;  and  perhaps  I 
can  tell  you  more  after  our  next  meeting. 
Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 
5 


66  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XIII. 
MANAGEMENT. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  April  4,  188-. 
MY  DEAR  SUPERINTENDENT  : 

I  think  I  must  go  away  back  to  our  January  meeting,  and 
take  up  a  back  stitch  that  proved  valuable  in  our  work,  and 
which  may  help  some  half-discouraged  teacher  among  your 
forces. 

Mr.  Johnson  had  previously  announced  that  we  would 
make  a  special  study  on  that  day  of  "  How  shall  I  best 
promote  the  interests  of  my  school  ? "  and  requested  us  to 
give  the  subject  our  careful  attention,  and  then  bring  to  our 
Association  a  written  answer  to  the  query,  supplemented  by 
a  brief  statement  of  the  reason  why  we  thought  that  the  true 
method.  ( You  will  observe  that  the  tone  of  our  meetings  is 
somewhat  more  elevated  than  when  they  were  merely  places 
for  reading  statistics.  Some  thanks  are  due  to  you,  for  your 
talks  and  suggestions,  as  well  as  much,  very  much,  to  Miss 
Preston.) 

Well,  we  were  interested  in  studying  out  why  we  had 
succeeded,  if  we  had,  and  the  cause  of  failure  if  the  best 
interests  of  our  school  had  not  been  promoted  by  us;  and  at 
the  appointed  hour  not  one  was  "among  the  missing."  A 
hat  was  passed  for  the  literary  contributions,  which  were 


THE   KEY  NOTE.  67 

then  read  by  the  collector,  and  I  herewith  append  a  hasty 
synopsis  of  a  few  of  the  more  characteristic  ones. 

"  By  strict  discipline. 

We  are  all  rebels  by  nature,  and  once  the  law  is  not  enforced,  disorder 
prevails :  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  best  interest  of  any  school." 

We  were  somewhat  surprised  afterward  to  learn  that  this 
came  from  Mr.  Lowell,  noted  as  he  is  for  his  want  of 
discipline. 

"  By  maintaining  our  dignity. 

This  is  preeminently  the  age  and  nation  for  hero  worship.  In  the  mind 
of  the  average  child  no  one  holds  a  higher  place  than  his  teacher,  and  if 
we  succeed  we  must  not  allow  'familiarity'  to  '  breed  contempt.'  " 

Another  instance  where  theory  and  practice  do  not  go 
hand  in  hand,  for  this  came  from  one  of  our  young  lady 
teachers,  who  never  understood  the  first  principles  of  true 
dignity.  Is  it  always  so  ?  Do  we  base  our  ideal  theories 
upon  what  we  feel  that  we  lack  in  ourselves  ? 

"  By  enforcing  our  rules. 

Laws  that  are  not  maintained  by  penalties  for  their  non-observance  are 
mere  nullities.  Every  school  is  a  miniature  kingdom,  of  which  the 
teacher  is  ruler,  and  the  pupils  subjects,  nolens  volens." 

A  lively  discussion  followed  this  proposition,  during  which 
it  was  decided  that  in  too  many  of  the  miniature  kingdoms 
there  are  tyrants  for  rulers ;  that  tyrants  incite  to  rebellion  ; 
and  that  sugar  plums  may  be  as  effective  in  some  cases  as 
cannon  balls. 

"  By  securing  the  codperation  of  parents,  pupils,  and  trustees  with  the 
teacher. 

In  union  we  find  strength ;  in  division  weakness.  If  the  elements  are 
harmonized  the  whole  will  be  symmetrical ;  but  if  the  parts  cannot  be 
made  to  join,  the  superstructure  is  unsafe." 

We  recognized  the  personality  of  this  key  note,  and  all  our 


68  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

hearts  responded  to  the  sound  of  its  music.  Miss  Preston 
was  called  upon  to  illustrate  her  meaning,  which  she  did 
somewhat  as  follows : 

"  Perhaps  I  can  best  explain  my  idea  by  relating  an  expe- 
rience of  ten  or  twelve  years  since.  I  was  young  and  a 

stranger  to  everyone  in  the  little  Village  of  M ,  when  I 

accepted  a  position  there  as  teacher  in  the  primary  depart- 
ment of  their  Union  School.  The  principal  of  the  school 
was  a  middle  aged  man  of  dead  ideas,  always  wearing  an 
apologetic  expression  and  seldom  speaking  of  his  school  or 
patrons,  except  to  whine  at  their  indifference  or  to  prophesy 
something  dismal  of  the  future.  He  pitied  me  for  my 
enthusiasm  when  I  proposed  during  the  first  month  to  invite 
the  parents  to  visit  my  school.  Said  he  : 

'  Why  I  have  taught  here  nine  years,  and  in  all  that  time 
only  six  of  the  parents  have  opened  the  door;  and  they  did 
it  only  to  find  fault  with  me  for  something  I  had  done  or 
left  undone.' 

'  And  do  the  trustees  never  come  in  ? '  I  asked. 

'  Yes,  when  I  send  for  them  to  substantiate  my  claim  in 
some  way.  On  any  other  occasion  they  send  Mr.  Hubbard, 
their  secretary,  to  see  if  anything  is  needed;  and  as  he  is 
timid  (?)  he  walks  around  outside  of  the  building,  and  I'm 
not  aware  of  his  presence  until  his  little  dog  comes  bounding 
and  barking  into  the  hall,  making  the  children  titter.  Then 
I  know  that  his  master  is  not  far  off  and  I  hunt  him  up  after 
school  closes  and  have  a  talk  with  him.' 

I  confess  it  looked  rather  dubious,  but  I  wrote  letters  of 
invitation  to  each  of  the  trustees,  and  two  for  each  pupil  — 
one  to  be  given  to  his  parents,  the  other  to  his  best  friend, 
one  hundred  twenty  in  all.  Then  I  called  for  volunteers 


COOPER  A  TION. 


69 


among  the  pupils  to  help  entertain  their  friends  with  music, 
recitations,  readings,  etc.,  and  every  child  took  a  part." 

"  Did  you  succeed  in  getting  any  one  out  to  your  recep- 
tion ?  "  queried  Mr.  Johnson,  with  interest. 

"Why,  yes.     The  room  was  crowded." 

"What  was  the  form  of  your  invitation?"  asked  Miss 
Wells,  greatly  interested. 

"  Oh,  about  the  same  as  any  'At  Home '  on  a  society  card." 

"  Had  you  met  most  of  the  parents  before  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.  But  I  think  a  teacher  ought  not  always  to  wait 
for  the  parents  to  take  the  initial  step  toward  an  acquaint- 
ance that  must  be  a  mutual  benefit.  To  be  sure  it  is  pleas- 
anter  for  us  when  they  do  so,  but  so  many  things  hinder  busy 
people  from  starting;  yet  they  would  be  more  than  glad  to 
meet  us  half  way.  The  surest  way  to  any  parent's  heart  is 
through  their  children ;  and  they  will  always  be  inclined  to 
assist  those  who  take  an  interest  in  the  juveniles." 

"But  how  did  you  manage  the  trustees  ?"  again  asked  our 
superintendent. 

"  Easily.  I  simply  changed  the  form  of  the  card,  and 
hinted  that  the  prosperity  of  our  school  was  due  largely  to 
their  financiering,  and  that  it  depended  somewhat  upon  their 
interest  in  its  everyday  matters." 

Let  me  tell  you  how  else  she  manages  to  secure  the  coope- 
ration of  parents.  She  calls  on  every  one  of  her  pupils  every 
year,  sometimes  oftener.  None  are  so  poor  or  so  wretched 
as  to  merit  her  neglect  —  none  so  far  away  that  she  will  not 
go  to  them.  And  no  child  is  ever  absent  from  school  two 
days  in  succession  without  an  extra  call  from  her.  If  she 
finds  them  sick,  she  ministers  to  them  ;  badly  clothed  she 
institutes  work  by  which  they  can  help  themselves  to  better; 


7o  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

indifferent  about  attendance,  this  call  is  sure  to  rouse  them; 
and  the  gratitude  of  the  parents  is  visible  in  their  love  for 
her,  and  in  their  interest  in  her  success.  She  gains  them  all, 
without  an  effort.  No,  not  without  an  effort;  not  without  a 
sacrifice  of  personal  comfort,  leisure,  society,  strength.  But 
her  success  is  compensatory  for  all  these.  Her  pupils,  their 
parents,  the  trustees,  are  her  firm  allies  now,  and  will  remain 
her  life-long  friends.  O,  I  could  tell  you  of  so  many  of 
her  ways  for  securing  this  cooperation  that  results  in  such 
mutual  benefit  —  little  in  themselves,  mayhap,  but  aggrega- 
ting grandly.  Space  and  time  forbid  further  particulars  at 
present,  however. 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


A    TEACHER'S  OPPORTUNITIES. 


No.  XIV. 
ENVIRONMENT. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  June  i,  188-. 
MR. ,  State  Supt.  of  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  —  I  believe  I  have  never  told  you  how 
Miss  Preston  got  the  school  yard  cleared  up  and  beautified 
last  Spring.  As  it  required  so  little  effort  on  her  part  and 
yet  resulted  in  so  much  good  (not  only  to  our  school  but  to 
individuals  outside  whom  I  feel  sure  she  reached  uninten- 
tionally), I  will  give  you  a  brief  outline.  If  any  one  has 
better  or  more  numerous  opportunities  than  another  to 
exercise  a  missionary  spirit,  that  one  is  the  public  school 
teacher.  He  has  access  to  at  least  as  many  homes  as  there 
are  representatives  in  the  school ;  and  in  each  of  these 
homes  the  teacher  may  be  a  power  for  the  good,  the  true* 
the  beautiful.  I  have  only  recently  learned  to  think  of 
these  things,  and  now  my  attention  to  it  is  entirely  due  to 
Miss'Preston's  influence  and  to  your  talks  and  letters.  If  she 
has  not  entirely  revolutionized  our  dull  old  city,  she  has  at 
least  worked  wonders  in  it  in  some  directions.  But  I  will 
not  stop  to  moralize,  as  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts  and 
her  manner  of  dealing  with  them  will  suggest  the  simple 
"  How  "  to  other  teachers. 

The  yard  is  large  and  well  shaded,  but  has  never  been 
kept  clean  until  within  the  last  two  years  —  the  leaves  of 


72  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

Autumn  serving  as  decoration  for  Spring.  The  ashes  and 
cinders  from  the  basement  beautified  one  side  of  the  yard, 
while  a  pile  of  kindling  ornamented  the  other.  These 
received  some  valuable  auxiliaries  in  the  shape  of  waste 
papers,  thrown  from  every  window,  remains  of  lunches 
(bread  crusts,  apple  cores,  orange  peel,  etc.),  with  now  and 
then  a  stray  rubber  by  way  of  variety. 

Of  course  the  papers  gradually  disappeared  after  the 
advent  of  the  waste  paper  basket,  mentioned  in  a  former 
letter  ;  but  this  did  not  diminish  the  ash  heap  nor  render 
the  other  things  invisible.  After  a  time  Miss  Preston  per- 
suaded those  who  brought  their  dinners  to  save  the  pieces 
usually  thrown  away,  in  a  newspaper  she  provided ;  and  she 
sent  them  by  one  of  the  big  boys  to  a  poor  family  living  in 
the  same  square,  for  their  hens.  The  children  were  de- 
lighted to  have  the  scraps  of  food  utilized ;  and  it  was  a 
godsend  to  the  poor  fowls,  who  were  not  overfed,  at  least. 

But  as  the  snows  of  winter  gave  place  to  grass,  the  yard 
began  to  be  talked  about.  Miss  Preston  agitated  the  sub- 
ject in  the  most  judicious  way,  never  fretting,  scolding  nor 
finding  fault.  This  she  never  does.  She  simply  said  one 
•day  while  standing  in  the  yard  : 

"  Henry,  if  you  will  bring  a  rake  to  school  this  afternoon, 
we  will  see  if  five  or  six  of  us  cannot  improve  the  looks  of 
the  yard  a  little  bit." 

Henry  did  not  need  a  second  invitation,  such  he  consid- 
ered it,  and  volunteers  to  help  were  both  numerous  and 
eager.  The  yard  was  cleared  of  all  the  rubbish  except  the 
kindling  wood  and  ashes.  The  janitor  was  asked  to  have 
them  removed  —  the  former  to  the  basement,  and  the  latter 
to  fill  in  the  hollows  in  .he  back  yard. 


THE    VASE  AND    THE  ROCKERY.  73 

One  morning  Miss  Preston  appeared  bearing  in  one  hand 
a  white  vase  or  urn,  such  as  adorn  the  yards  of  some  of  our 
<l  best  citizens,"  only  smaller.  When  one  of  the  girls  asked 
her  about  it  she  laughed  and  said :  "  I  guess  we  must  go  to 
the  woods  for  a  standard  for  it ; "  and  after  school  our 
department  went  en  masse,  and  when  a  stump  of  the  desired 
size  and  shape  had  been  found,  the  boys  dragged  it  down  to 
the  yard  for  her  and,  following  her  directions,  placed  it  in 
the  center  of  the  left  yard,  and  the  vase  was  fastened  to  its 
top  by  means  of  nails  driven  around  it.  It  was  then  filled 
with  dirt ;  and  bits  of  yellow  myrtle,  coliseum  ivy,  and 
othonno,  were  stuck  into  the  soil  and  left  to  grow  and  cover 
both  vase  and  stump.  After  being  pronounced  "a  beauty," 
"lovely,"  etc.,  it  transpired  that  the  vase  was  the  top  of  an 
old  stove  which  some  one  was  throwing  away,  when  she 
begged  it  for  the  purpose  named.  She  took  it  to  the  wagon 
shop,  where  she  got  it  painted  for  ten  cents. 

The  next  week  she  said,  just  before  dismissing  school  one 
day:  "  If  some  of  the  boys  will  help  me  a  while  to-night,  we 
will  start  a  rockery  in  the  right-hand  yard,  opposite  the 
vase."  You  may  be  sure  that  there  was  no  lack  of  help ; 
and  while  the  big  boys  did  the  lifting,  the  little  ones  helped 
pile  the  stones  in  the  desired  shape.  By  degrees  working 
only  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  this  was  finished  and  filled 
with  soil,  and  creeping  Jenny  was  brought,  to  grow  over  the 
sides.  A  cross  was  erected  in  the  center,  and  scarlet  run- 
ners, morning  glories,  sweet  peas  and  a  hop  vine  were  trained 
over  and  around  it.  It  was  beautiful. 

Afterwards  a  geranium  bank  was  built  against  the  south 
end  of  the  school  house,  and  kept  a  perfect  mass  of  bloom 
there  during  the  whole  season.  This  year  two  large  flower 


74  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

beds  have  been  started  for  pansies,  verbenas,  phlox,  etc., 
with  what  result  you  shall  surely  know  in  time. 

Then  she  went  to  the  Board  of  Education  and  asked  if 
they  had  any  fund  which  they  could  legally  appropriate  to 
the  purchase  of  two  croquet  sets !  Having  great  confidence 
in  her  "  management "  they  gave,  without  a  murmur,  what 
no  one  else  would  have  dared  to  ask  for ;  and  the  croquet 
was  put  up,  one  set  on  each  side  of  the  back  yard,  for  the 
pupils'  use. 

I  need  not  say  that  all  these  things  have  paid  large  divid- 
ends, for  the  money  invested  and  for  the  extra  labor.  Riots 
in  our  school  are  unknown,  truancy  unheard  of  ;  and  every 
pupil  is  the  loyal  subject  of  a  loving  sovereign. 

I  must  tell  you  that  Mr.  Johnson  has  been  suddenly  taken 
sick,  and  by  common  consent  of  the  Board  of  Education  he 
has  asked  Miss  Preston  to  officiate  as  superintendent  during 
his  illness.  Will  she  be  a  success  ?  Yes,  if  she  consents  to 
take  it  all — for  she  never  goes  beyond  her  depth. 

More  anon,  from 

Yours  Very  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


MISS  PXESTON  S  PROMOTION. 


No.  XV. 

HEALTH. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  30,  188-. 
MR. ,  State  Supt.,  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  So  much  has  been  begun,  accomplished, 
and  become  a  thing  of  the  past,  since  my  last  letter,  that  I 
hardly  know  where  to  begin.  But  I  think  I  will  go  away 
back  to  our  September  meeting,  for  the  topic  announced  for 
discussion  was  so  unusual,  and  at  the  same  time  of  so  general 
interest,  that  I  cannot  forbear  thinking  that  a  synopsis  of  it 
may  be  welcomed  by  your  intelligent  teachers. 

Two  years  ago  we  should  have  been,  —  well,  to  put  it 
mildly  —  astonished  to  hear  Mr.  Johnson  suggest  anything 
out  of  the  old,  stereotyped  way  for  our  consideration  ;  but 
since  the  advent  among  us  of  a  teacher  who  lives  and,  living, 
thinks,  we  have  found  to  our  surprise  that  the  educational 
"  world  does  move; "  for  when  we  came  together  for  the  first 
time  after  the  long  vacation,  we  found  Mr.  Johnson  partly 
recovered  from  his  illness,  but  not  well  enough  to  perform 
all  his  duties  as  superintendent,  and  with  Miss  Preston  for 
his  chosen  deputy!  Miss  Preston,  whom  he  had  well  nigh 
beheaded  for  heresy  only  two  years  ago  !  Miss  Preston, 
who  for  some  months  w,as  a  veritable  "thorn  in  the  flesh" 
to  our  conservative  superintendent,  because  of  her  radical 


76 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


notions  and  her  persistent,  although  unobtrusive,  declaration 
of  them ! 

Well,  we  were  not  as  entirely  unprepared  for  the  blessed 
denouement  as  we  might  have  been,  for  we  had  all  noticed 
how,  unconsciously  to  himself,  perhaps,  he  had  been  gradu- 
ally won  over  to  her  views  of  school  matters ;  so  after  our 
reorganization  we  were  not  so  much  surprised  to  hear  his 
proposal  as  the  subject  for  our  next  regular  meeting,  "  Our 
health  :  why  and  how  shall  we  promote  it  ?  " 

We  were  requested  to  consider  it  seriously,  analytically, 
and  thoroughly,  and  then  to  come  to  the  meeting  prepared 
to  give  our  views  and  their  reasons ;  our  experiences  of  the 
past  and  plans  for  the  future. 

So  totally  unlike  the  old,  formal  meetings  of  our  Associa- 
tion, where  we  did  nothing  but  read  statistics  and  receive 
commendation  for  their  fullness  or  censure  for  their  incom- 
pleteness !  Verily,  time  should  be  measured  by  our  work 
instead  of  by  the  ticking  of  the  clock;  for  in  this  short  space 
we  have  learned  more  of  our  profession,  done  more  for  it  and 
better  work  in  it,  than  in  all  the  long  years  that  preceded  it. 

I  have  only  one  regret  at  the  changes  wrought ;  I  am  no 
longer  "  Miss  Preston's  Assistant,"  she  being  removed  to  a 
wider  circle  of  action  —  and  I  was  glad  to  be  known  as  such. 
Is  it  too  late  for  me  to  make  a  place  for  myself  among  think- 
ing teachers  ?  Will  it  be  an  advantage  to  me  to  be  left  more 
dependent  upon  myself,  now  that  I  have  been  really  "  waked 
up  "  to  my  position  and  its  responsibilities  ?  Can  I  ever 
hope  to  accomplish  anything  for  the  cause,  myself?  These 
and  similar  questions  are  formulated"  daily,  hourly,  con- 
stantly, as  I  teach,  work,  or  write.  But,  concerning  health 
as  discussed  by  our  Association  : 


CARLYLE'S  LAW  OF  CULTURE.  77 

Mr.  Johnson  occupied  the  chair ;  the  meeting  took  the 
form  adopted  by  common  consent  a  year  and  a  half  previ- 
ously :  an  experience,  conference,  or  class  meeting.  Mr. 
Lowell  spoke  first : 

"  As  to  the  '  why '  we  should  try  to  make  the  most  of  our 
physical  nature.  We  are  all  more  or  less  governed  in  all 
that  we  do  by  selfish  motives;  and  I  think  that  for  our  own 
comfort  and  convenience^  if  for  nothing  else,  we  should  avoid 
things  that  we  know  to  be  harmful,  and  cultivate  the  habits 
that  we  find  by  observation  and  experience  are  most  bene- 
ficial in  their  results." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Mr.  Johnson ;  "  it  is  true  that  we  are 
promoting  our  own  interests  in  seeking  to  improve  our  bodily 
health.  Who  has  another  suggestion  ? " 

Miss  Miller  arose  somewhat  timidly,  to  advance  her  ideas 
on  the  subject.  Another  indication  that  "  the  waters  have 
been  troubled,"  for  she  has  heretofore  been  a  "  silent  part- 
ner" in  our  concern,  except  when  personally  called  upon  to 
express  herself,  and  then  she  has  done  it  so  diffidently  that 
we  have  felt  sure  she  would  rather  listen  than  speak. 

"  I  think  it  may  be  done  from  a  sense  of  duty  to  ourselves, 
quite  as  much  as  from  a  seeking  after  personal  comfort  and 
convenience.  Our  full  measure  of  self-duty  is  not  rounded 
until  we  have  done  all  that  we  know  is  for  our  good." 

The  idea  of  making  our  health  a  matter  of  conscience ! 
It  was  new  to  some  of  us  any  way,  but  I  think  it's  not  so 
bad  a  suggestion  after  all.  Is  it  not  Carlyle  who  declares 
the  law  of  culture  to  be  ( in  effect),  Let  each  become  all  that 
he  was  created  capable  of  being;  expand,  if  possible,  to  his 
full  growth,  resisting  all  impediments,  casting  off  all  foreign 
especially  all  noxious,  adhesions,  and  show  himself  in  his 


78  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

own  shape  and  stature,  be  these  what  they  may  ?  All  that 
we  are  "created  capable  of  being,"  means  so  much.  But  I 
digress. 

Mr.  Wheeler  spoke  next : 

"  I  am  inclined  to  be  governed  by  Mr.  Lowell's  stated 
conviction  that  selfish  motives  may  be  the  inspiration  that 
governs  me  in  seeking  to  improve  my  physical  nature.  I 
enjoy  life  when  I'm  well ;  but  if  suffering  from  neuralgia, 
malaria,  dyspepsia,  or  fever,  my  pleasure  in  existence  is 
gone." 

Verily,  he  seemed  like  health  personified  as  he  stood  there. 
Tall,  straight,  well  proportioned,  and  ruddy  of  countenance, 
he  might  indeed  "enjoy  life,"  and  one  could  hardly  imagine 
him  conquered  by  disease. 

"  That  is  good,  too,"  observed  Mr.  Johnson,  "  as  far  as  it 
goes ;  has  any  one  else  a  '  why '  for  us  to  consider  ?  " 

Next  Miss  Wood  spoke  : 

"As  a  matter  of  economy  it  would  be  well  for  some  of  us  to 
study  the  first  principles  of  health.  Besides  having  been 
off  duty  several  months,  and  thereby  curtailing  my  salary,  I 
have  recently  paid  a  doctor's  bill  of  $45  ;  and  financial  con- 
siderations alone  would  be  sufficient  to  lead  me  to  give  more 
attention  to  the  matter  than  I  have  ever  done  before." 

My  own  turn  seemed  to  be  right  here,  and  I  ventured  the 
observation  that  since  my  daily  bread  was  secured  by  the 
performance  of  duties  that  could  not  be  done  in  sickness, 
financial  considerations  were  of  some  importance  to  me  also. 

Miss  Smith  came  next : 

"Well,  my  Yankee  spirit  rebels  at  the  idea  of  being 
dependent  upon  one  else,  as  all  sick  people  must  be  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  proportion  to  their  helplessness. 


MORALS  OF  GOOD  HEALTH. 


79 


I  don't  like  even  to  feel  that  I  am  marring  some  one  else's 
pleasure,  by  asking  for  quiet  because  my  head  aches.  I 
don't  want  to  be  obliged  to  wait  for  some  one  to  do  my 
errands  or  to  wait  upon  me  because  I  am  unable  to  do  either 
for  myself.  Health  is  liberty;  disease  is  slavery;  "  and  she 
sat  down  as  abruptly  as  she  had  spoken,  leaving  a  visible 
effect  on  the  minds  of  some  of  her  auditors. 

I  began  to  think  Miss  Preston  did  not  mean  to  speak  on 
this  subject,  but  she  now  said,  slowly  and  without  rising : 

"  These  are  all  good  reasons,  and  show  the  importance  of 
making  an  effort  to  promote  our  health ;  but  I  am  not  sure 
we  have  found  the  prime  '  Why '  embodied  in  any  one  or 
all  of  them.  'No  man  liveth  to  himself;'  and  although  a 
proper  degree  of  thought  and  care  for  self  is  not  only  com- 
mendable but  necessary,  I  think  we  must  go  even  further 
than  that,  and  consider  somewhat  our  relations  to  others, 
and  their  happiness,  comfort,  and  convenience.  Nor  can  we 
ignore  the  fact  that  we,  as  teachers,  have  a  special  responsi- 
bility in  the  matter;  for  we  cannot  do  our  duty  by  those  over 
whom  we  have  voluntarily  assumed  a  guardianship,  if  by 
reason  of  physical  disability  our  chief  thought  is  given  to 
ourselves ;  and  we  have  no  moral  right  to  come  into  school 
day  after  day,  with  our  tempers  so  tried  by  physical  suffering 
which  we  might  prevent,  that  we  cannot  do  full  justice  to 
the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  necessities  of  our  pupils. 
We  have  no  right,  as  teachers,  to  make  our  pupils  feel  our 
pain,  nor  to  render  them  the  least  injustice  by  neglecting  to 
'round  up  the  full  measure  of  our  duty  '  to  them." 

Of  course  hers  was  the  broader,  more  noble  view  of  the 
Question,  as  usual;  but  we  all  acquiesced  in  it  mentally,  if 
not  verbally.  Mr.  Johnson  had  betrayed  more  than  ordi- 


8o  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

nary  interest  in  this  part  of  the  discussion,  and  now  added 
his  mite  to  the  general  contribution : 

"There  is  one  phase  of  the  subject  untouched  as  yet,  I 
believe.  Time  is  an  important  element  in  our  work,  and  all 
that  is  lost  by  sickness  is  so  much  taken  from  our  allotted 
three-score-and-ten.  We  have  no  right  to  waste  our  time 
nor  to  shorten  our  years  by  endangering  or  injuring  our 
health." 

There  were  other  speakers,  and  some  minor  lights  were 
thrown  upon  the  subject,  but  the  question  soon  turned  on 
the  "  How  ?  "  Space  and  time  alike  forbid  the  rehearsal  of 
the  points  made  on  this  division  of  the  subject,  until  you 
hear  again  from 

Yours  Very  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 

( For  as  such  I  still  prefer  to  be  known,  having  made  your 
acquaintance  while  in  that  capacity.) 


* 


BREA  THING.  8 1 


No.  XVI. 

HEALTH.     (Continued.} 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  March,  188-. 
MR. ,  State  Supt.,  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir : — "How  shall  we  promote  our  health?" 
seemed  to  us  even  more  practical,  as  we  advanced  in  its 
discussion,  than  did  the  first  part  of  the  question,  the 
"Why." 

"  I  think,"  said  our  Superintendent,  with  some  hesitancy, 
"  that  as  breath  is  the  essential  of  life,  perhaps  we  had  better 
open  this  part  of  the  subject  by  the  ideas  we  have  gained 
from  experience,  concerning  breathing.  To  appreciate  the 
necessity  for  knowledge  on  this  subject,  one  only  needs  to 
have  the  respiration  become  short  and  painful  for  a  few 
days.  A  long,  full  breath,  one  which  is  painless,  will  be 
looked  upon  as  a  real  luxury  then,"  and  he  smiled  faintly. 

Stern,  cold  and  hard  as  he  had  always  seemed  to  us,  I 
think  not  one  but  felt  a  secret  sympathy  for  him,  knowing 
that  his  words  must  have  been  the  result  of  his  recent 
experience. 

Mr.  Wheeler  added :  "  Yes,  and  it  is  such  a  cheap  Luxury, 
too.  The  trouble  is,  that  nine  tenths  of  us  don't  know  how  to 
breathe." 

Really,  I  had  never  thought  of  it  before,  but  I  began  to  be 
interested.     "  Is   this   a   part  of   the   New  Education  ? "  I 
6 


8 2  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

asked  myself.  "  Are  we  to  breathe,  by  rule,  as  we  learn 
arithmetic  ?  " 

I  had  no  time  to  formulate  the  thoughts  that  crowded  in 
through  the  little  door  that  had  been  set  slightly  ajar  in  my 
brain,  for  Miss  Wood  immediately  spoke  : 

"  Not  know  howl     What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Wheeler?  " 

"  Precisely  what  I  said,"  with  a  smile ;  "  we  breathe,  for 
instance,  through  our  mouths  instead  of  through  our  noses 
more  than  half  of  the  time,  thereby  filling  our  lungs  with 
dust,  as  well  as  with  air  that  is  too  cold  before  it  passes 
through  the  place  where  our  Creator  intended  that  it  should. 
Again  ;  we  do  not  breathe  deeply  enough.  We  are  satisfied 
to  take  a  short  respiration  which  only  half  fills  the  lungs, 
that  should  be  filled  full  at  every  upward  movement  of  the 
chest." 

Breathing!  so  simple  a  thing — and  yet  in  this  nineteenth 
century  even  that  is  reduced  to  an  exact  science  !  What 
next  ? 

"  And  then  our  eating  is,  so  much  of-  it,  wrong.  We  eat 
too  much;  too  often;  and  things  that  are  not  calculated  to 
repair  the  wastes  that  are  continually  going  on  in  our  sys- 
tems. We  do  not  sufficiently  study  our  body-functions. 
Our  digesting  apparatus  is  more  of  a  mystery  to  most  of  us 
than  Kepler's  Three  Laws,  or  the  doctrine  of  evolution." 

This,  of  course,  came  from  Miss  Smith.  She  has  a  breezy 
way  that  is  refreshing  in  some  temperatures,  although  rather 
chilling  in  others.  I  like  her  though;  I  can't  help  it  —  if 
she  is  somewhat  incisive  in  her  remarks. 

"  What  is  '  too  often  ? "  was  Miss  Miller's  rather  apologetic 
inquiry.  "  We  can  hardly  take  more  than  three  meals  a  day  if 
we  are  teaching,  and  I've  never  supposed  that  extravagant." 


REST.  83 

"  True  ;  and  if  we  only  ate  at  meal  times  there  would  be 
fewer  cases  of  headache,  indigestion  and  dyspepsia.  As  a 
rule,  we  give  our  digestive  organs  plenty  to  do  with  what  we 
eat  at  table ;  but  how  few  of  us  refuse  fruit,  nuts  or  candy 
between  times !  " 

Silence  for  a  few  moments ;  perhaps  we  were  undergoing 
a  sort  of  self-examination,  for  directly  Mr.  Lowell  "con- 
fessed "  for  all  of  us  : 

"  I  think  we  must  all  plead  guilty  to  that  home  thrust," 
and  he  looked  around  to  see  if  there  was  any  dissent. 
Finding  none  he  proceeded  :  "  But  if  we  go  very  much  into 
details  here  we  shall  never  get  off  this  one  department  of 
the  subject,  and  there  are  so  many  !  We  must  make  a  real 
study  of  this  thing,  and  as  '  A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient,' 
we  will,  perhaps,  do  well  to  discuss  this  matter  still  further 
in  the  future,  after  having  had  time  to  look  it  up  a  little 
more.  One  thing  occurs  to  me  just  now,  and  I  give  you  the 
thought  for  what  it  is  worth.  We  may  take  every  precau- 
tion as  to  eating  and  breathing  properly,  and  yet  neglect  the 
next  essential,  rest.  Too  few  of  us  know  how  to  rest,  or 
when  or  how  much.  Some  of  us  do  not  even  know  what 
real  rest  is." 

"  Do  you  mean  anything  further  than  sleep  ?  "  asked  Mr. 
Johnson. 

"  Oh,  yes.  Sometimes  a  mere  change  of  occupation  is 
rest.  We  cannot  do  the  same  thing  for  a  great  length  of 
time  without  some  weariness  to  the  organs  and  muscles  that 
are  brought  into  use  by  that  special  form  of  labor,  be  it  phys- 
ical or  mental ;  and  at  the  same  time  others  are  inactive,  and 
will  become  equally  weary  for  want  of  use." 

"  Then  you  do  not  consider  idleness  necessary  to  rest  ? " 


84  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  Sometimes,  perhaps,  but  seldom.  But  we  should  be 
careful  not  to  pursue  the  same  thing  too  long  at  a  time, 
even  in  the  matter  of  recreation  and  rest.  Too  much  of  the 
same  sort,  even  of  rest,  is  not  good  for  us." 

Now  that  was  news  to  me.  I  had  never  really  thought  of 
it  before ;  but  I  think  it  must  be  true,  because  I  know  that 
I  have  always  found  myself  about  as  tired  of  "  doing  noth- 
ing "  during  my  summer  vacation  as  I  have  ever  been  by 
teaching  ;  although,  to  be  sure,  I  have  only  recently  learned 
how  much  real  hard  work  can  be  carried  on  in  the  school 
room, 

"  One  other  thing  occurs  to  me,"  said  Miss  Preston. 
"  Perhaps  all  of  us  rely  more  upon  tonics  and  narcotics  to 
carry  us  over  an  uneven  spot  in  our  journey  than  we  ought. 
Quinine,  chloral,  aconite,  etc.,  are  made  to  do  the  duty  of 
common  sense,  prudence  and  self-denial." 

"  I  have  heard,"  said  Mr.  Brown,  somewhat  sarcastically, 
"  that  'An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure ; ' 
and  perhaps  the  little  'prevention'  we  take  so  easily  keeps 
away  the  necessity  for  greater  doses. " 

"  Yes,  perhaps.  But  then  if  we  began  the  '  prevention  ' 
a  little  earlier  in  the  day  it  would  be  better  still  by  removing 
the  necessity  for  even  a  tiny  dose,  from  the  effects  of  which 
our  systems  must  always  take  time  to  recover." 

"I  think  our  dress  is  not  always  conducive  to  health," 
said  Miss  Wheeler.  "  Perhaps  I  should  say  ladies'  dress, 
for  I  rather  think  our  fathers  and  brothers  have  some  little 
advantage  there.  They  have  more  freedom  of  movement, 
more  room,  more  comfort,  and  consequently  more  good 
nature,  which  is  a  great  help  toward  good  health." 

Did  you  ever  hear  anything  more  absurd  ?     Good  health 


SYNOPSJS.  85 

secured  by  good  nature,  and   that  ( partially  at  least )  by 
roomy  clothing ! 

I  find  I  must  stop,  but  if  you  like  I  will  crystallize  the  dif- 
ferent ideas  into  as  many  sentences,  and  you  may  have  them 
for  what  they  are  worth.  Then,  if  you  want  the  gist  of  our 
next  meeting  on  the  same  topic,  I'll  give  it  some  time  in  the 
future,  but  I  want  first  to  tell  you  how  Miss  Preston  teaches 
grammar,  which  I  shall  do  in  my  next: 

1.  Breathe  deeply,  through  the  nose,  with  closed  mouth. 

2.  Eat  regularly,  judiciously. 

3.  Rest  frequently  ;  not  too  long  in  the  same  way. 

4.  Avoid  medicine  (ordinarily),  but  do  not  be  sparing  of 
common  sense. 

5.  Dress  comfortably. 

6.  DON'T  WORRY. 

These  suggestions  are  few  and  simple,  but  we  have  tested 
them  pretty  severely  in  the  last  few  months,  and  are  pleased 
at  our  success. 

Yours  Respectfully, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


86  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XVII. 

GRAMMAR. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  May  i,  188-. 
STATE  SUPT.  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

My  Very  Dear  Sir: —  Our  talk  on  "  Grammar  and  How  to 
Teach  It  "  was  so  interesting  and  helpful  to  most  of  us  that 
I  wondered  if  it  might  not  be  useful  to  others  who  had  run 
across  a  similar  "snag."  Yes,  I  used  that  word  advisedly, 
for  it  has  been  a  very  serious  question  with  some  of  us  — 
with  me.  And  I  am  free  to  confess  that  the  trouble  began 
in  my  room  —  if  that  can  be  truly  called  "  trouble  "  which 
finally  results  in  so  much  good  to  so  many  people.  It  was 
on  this  wise : 

A  year  or  more  ago,  Colonel  Clinton  visited  our  school 
with  a  view  to  sending  his  youngest  daughter  there.  Now 
the  Colonel  is  very  peculiar.  He  has  views ;  and  as  he  has 
money  also,  he  can  afford  to  be  independent  in  his  expres- 
sion of  them.  He  does  not  believe  in  public  schools  and 
has  never  patronized  them,  having  hired  private  tutors  and 
governesses  for  his  children.  So  we  were  all  very  much 
astonished  to  hear  him  say,  after  having  sat  a  while : 

"  Miss  Preston,  I  have  heard  so  much  of  your  work  in 
school,  that  I  thought  I  would  drop  in  and  see  if  the  reports 
had  not  been  greatly  exaggerated.  I  am  pleased  to  find 
that  they  have  not,  but  '  the  half  has  not  been  told  me ;  ' 


FAULTS  OF   THE  PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  87 

and  now  I  want,  if  you  can  receive  her,  to  send  my  daughter 
Katharine.  Her  governess  has  been  called  home  unexpect- 
edly by  the  death  of  her  mother,  and  cannot  come  back  to 
us.  But  I  see  you  are  pretty  well  filled  up  here.  Can  you 
take  her?" 

"Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  Miss  Preston;  "we'll  manage  some 
way.  Has  she  never  been  to  school  ? " 

"  No.  None  of  my  children  have  ever  been  to  public 
school.  My  oldest  son  fitted  for  college  under  my  own 
supervision,  and  my  second  is  doing  the  same  ;  will  be 
ready,  we  think,  in  the  fall.  My  oldest  daughter  will  gradu- 
ate from  Wellesley  in  June ;  my  second  daughter  entered 
last  year  —  and  now  here  is  Katharine,  just  about  with  your 
grade  in  her  studies,  I  should  think." 

"What  is  your  objection  to  the  public  schools?"  asked 
Miss  Preston,  very  quietly.  You  could  not  have  guessed 
from  her  demeanor  that  he  had  touched  upon  her  favorite 
theme,  but  he  had. 

"Oh, the  system  is  all  wrong,"  he  began, but  stopped  sud- 
denly, as  if  recollecting  himself. 

"  Perhaps.  I  will  not  deny  that  it  has  faults,  very  grave 
ones,  it  may  be;  but  I  have  never  found  that  the  mere  men- 
tion of  an  evil  rectified  it;  and  unless  we  have  something 
better  to  offer  in  its  place,  we  gain  nothing  by  criticising  it." 

"  True;  very  true,"  he  replied  earnestly,  "  and  I  think  you 
are  doing  your  full  duty  to  help  it.  You  do  not  do  as  so 
many  have  done  who  cry  '  down  '  with  the  system,  and  that 
is  just  why  I  want  Katharine  to  be  here.  As  a  general  thing 
the  schools  are  governed  by  cast  iron  rules,  and  graded  by 
a  sort  of  Procrustean  process  of  examination  that  lops  off 
or  stretches  the  pupils,  until  they  all  fit  one  educational 


.88  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

bed,  without  regard  to  their  intellects,  home  surroundings, 
or  after  lives." 

Much  more  of  the  same  sort  —  worth  printing,  too,  for 
each  is  chock  full  of  ideas  on  this  subject  —  but  I  want  to 
tell  you  about  the  grammar  discussion,  and  must  not  stop  on 
the  way;  but  the  result  of  it  was  that  Katharine  came,  and, 
Katharine  saw,  and  Katharine  conquered,  as  hereafter. 

Things  went  all  right  as  long  as  Miss  Preston  stayed,  but 
she  was  called  upon  to  take  Mr.  Johnson's  place  during  his 
sickness,  and  her  class  fell  to  me.  ( Would  that  her  mantle 
had  fallen  to  me  also ! )  I  got  along  very  well  until  one  day, 
in  the  grammar  class,  Katharine  asked  me  something,  and  I, 
in  my  old  unthinking  way,  referred  her  to  her  text  book. 

"  Oh,  I  know  it's  there,  and  I  can  read  it  if  I  choose;  but 
what  good  will  it  do,  as  long  as  I  don't  understand  it  ? " 

Now  that  set  me  to  thinking,  and  I  thought  real  hard. 
Two  or  three  years  ago  I  should  have  blamed  her,  perhaps 
punished  her,  for  impertinence ;  but  I  have  found  out  some 
things  in  that  time ;  and  when  little  things  like  that  occur  I 
try  to  see  if  there  may  not  be  some  underlying  reason  for  it. 
Well,  to  help  matters  along,  the  next  day  brought  me  the 
following  note  from  the  Colonel : 

"  If  Miss  Preston's  Assistant  will  excuse  my  little  girl  from  the  recita 
tion  in  grammar,  I  will  undertake  the  care  of  that  study  myself,  and  will 
see  that  she  is  so  well  drilled  that  she  will  '  pass '  at  the  next  examination. 
Please  let  me  hear  from  you  on  the  subject,  and  believe  me, 
Your  Most  Obedient  Servant, 

M.  S.  CLINTON." 

Before  my  association  with  Miss  Preston,  the  above  would 
have  called  forth  thoughts,  perhaps  remarks,  like  these  : 
"  Perhaps  he  had  better  make  out  my  programs  for  me !     I 


MY  REPLY    TO    THE   COLONEL'S  NOTE.  89 

am  surprised  that  he  doesn't  petition  the  Board  of  Education 
to  let  him  dictate  the  entire  course  of  study  for  our  schools! 
I  wonder  what  he  sends  his  child  to  public  school  for,  if  he 
means  to  reserve  the  right  to  elect  what  she  shall  or  shall 
not  study.  Does  he  suppose  I  can  have  all  the  parents 
using  their  discretion,  or  their  want  of  it,  in  the  education 
of  my  pupils  ?  If  he  wants  to  teach  her  grammar,  he  may 
teach  her  that  and  everything  else  along  with  it." 

But  now,  things  are  so  different ;  I  can  see  why  a  teacher 
should  not  monopolize  all  the  interest  in  a  child's  studies, 
and  how  it  is  that  some  parents  feel  deprived  of  parental 
privileges  by  the  educational  straight  jackets  to  which  their 
children  are  subjected.  So  after  some  meditation  on  the 
subject,,!  penned  the  following  reply: 
"  MR.  M.  S.  CLINTON, 

My  Dear  Sir: —  Much  as  I  should  be  pleased  to  comply  with  so  reason- 
able a  request,  I  cannot  yet  see  my  way  clear  to  do  so.  The  course  of 
study  for  each  grade  has  been  planned  by  the  Superintendent,  with  the 
concurrence  of  the  Board  ;  and  until  the  rules  are  abrogated  or  modified, 
the  teachers  have  no  discretion  in  the  matter,  and  cannot  choose  but  obey. 
Most  Respectfully, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT." 

There  I  was,  well  entrenched  behind  my  breastwork,  the 
Board  and  Superintendent ;  which  breastwork  he  proceed- 
ed to  destroy  at  once  by  appealing  in  person  to  the  said  B. 
and  S. 

"  Why  will  you,"  said  he,  "  insist  upon  wasting  so  much 
precious  time  on  mere  technicalities  that  are  neither  useful 
nor  comprehensible  to  the  average  child  ?  By  doing  so,  you 
use  up  half  a  dozen  of  the  best  years  of  the  child's  life, 
and  give  him  a  smattering  of  several  things  and  a  dislike,  if 
not  a  positive  aversion,  to  those  really  desirable,  and  deprive 


9o  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

him  of  the  opportunity  to  learn  things  that  he  must  meet  in 
after  life,  prepared  or  unprepared.  You've  no  moral  right  to 
do  it." 

The  idea  of  there  being  a  moral  side  to  grammar !  Well, 
I  took  my  trouble  to  Miss  Preston,  and  asked  her  if  we 
could  not  discuss  it  at  our  next  meeting. 

"  Certainly;  we  will  do  so.  Questions  like  this  are  coming 
up  every  day,  and  we  must  think  of  them.  Colonel  Clinton 
is  more  than  half  right  —  partly  wrong  —  as  such  radical 
people  are  apt  to  be." 

And  that  was  the  beginning  of  our  revolution.  Some  of 
the  teachers  opened  their  eyes  with  astonishment  when  the 
subject  of  the  day  was  announced,  and  not  a  few  suggested 
that  it  was  a  foeman  hardly  worthy  of  their  steel ;  but  these 
same  objectors  were  among  the  first  to  fall  in  the  conflict. 

Miss  Bates  began : 

"  I  like  the  method  I  learned  by.  I  am  used  to  it  and  I 
have  never  learned  any  other.  I  am  perfectly  at  home  in  it 
and  should  lose  myself  in  trying  to  teach  a  new  one  that  I 
was  not  familiar  with ;  "  and  she  settled  back  into  her  seat. 

Miss  Ingersoll  whispered  to  me  :  "  I  wonder  if  the  system 
she  is  so  '  familiar  with  '  advocates  the  use  of  prepositions 
at  the  end  of  sentences  ?  " 

Now  as  Miss  Bates  must  have  learned  grammar  thirty  or 
forty  years  since,  I  thought,  myself,  that  perhaps  some  little 
advance  had  been  made  in  the  method  of  teaching  it.  But 
Mr.  Brown  interrupted  my  reflections  with  : 

"Well.  I  suppose  grammar  and  the  best  methods  of  teach- 
ing it  have  made  some  progress  since  I  studied  it,  for  '  The 
world  does  move '  in  educational  as  well  as  in  other  senses, 
and  I  am  looking  for  results  that  will  help  me  choose  from 
among  the  many  methods  in  vogue." 


OBJECTIONS.  9I 

"  As  for  me,"  said  Mr.  Lowell,  "  I  do  not  know  which  I 
most  dread,  grammar  or  compositions.  I  got  a  great  deal 
of  light  on  the  latter  subject  at  one  of  our  first  meetings  on 
the  new  plan,  and  it  helped  me  wonderfully.  If  grammar 
can  be  reduced  to  the  same  simple  thing,  I  shall  be  grateful 
to  whoever  will  show  me  how  to  render  pleasant  the  disa- 
greeable, and  useful  the  apparently  useless.  As  it  is,  my 
pupils  not  only  dislike  it,  but  they  see  positive  reasons  why 
they  ought  not  to  be  compelled  to  study  it." 

"Exactly  my  experience,"  said  Miss  Wood.  "To  their 
'  I  don't  see  the  use  of  it,'  I  generally  put  in,  '  You  will,  per- 
haps, when  you  are  older ; '  but  when  I  said  that  to  Mary 
Towner  the  other  day,  she  said  that  her  father  often  said  that 
reading  the  best  authors  gave  any  one  a  better  knowledge  of 
the  queen's  English  than  the  mere  study  of  grammar  could 
ever  do;  and  I  had  nothing  to  reply,  for  I  felt  its  truth." 

Mr.  Johnson  sighed.  "  How  much  remains  for  us  to  do  !  " 
he  said  despondently. 

"Perhaps  we  shall  gain  time  by  undoing"  said  Miss 
Preston.  "  This  is  one  of  the  things  I  have  wanted  to  have 
discussed  in  council  for  a  long  time.  It  has  troubled  me 
that  the  course  of  study  mapped  out  for  us  to  follow  ignores 
grammar  until  after  the  child  has  been  several  years  in 
school,  and  then  the  indiscriminate  stuffing  of  rules,  defini- 
tions and  conjugations  begins.  '  Fall  term,  Kerfs  Grammar 
to  page  95;  winter  term,  ditto  to  page  125;  spring  term,  to 
page  150,  and  review  the  year's  work.'  The  next  year  it  is 
the  same,  only  more  so ;  and  the  process  is  continued  ad 
libitum,  ad  infinitum,  ad  nauseam,  until  I  don't  wonder  that 
teachers,  pupils,  and  parents  cry  for  mercy." 

"Is  there  no  'balm  in  Gilead'?"  queried  Miss  Smith. 


92  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"Certainly  there  is  a  cure,"  answered  Miss  Preston.  "  I 
believe  there's  no  physical  disease  without  its  remedy,  and 
that  there's  no  question  of  educational  importance  without 
its  answer;  but  both  remedy  and  answer  require  diligence, 
labor,  and  patience,  in  the  finding." 

I  believe  I  am  getting  beyond  my  limits,  and  so  will  defer 
the  suggestions  offered  and  conclusions  at  which  we  arrived, 
until  my  next;  remaining, 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


TEACHING  BY  EXAMPLE. 


93 


No.  XVIII. 

GRAMMAR.     ( Continued. ) 

"I  teach  grammar  largely  by  using  it  —  as,  if  I  were  to 
teach  walking  I  would  set  the  class  to  walking.  Much  of 
our  teaching,  perhaps  including  grammar,  is  theoretical,  and 
in  ordinary  conversation  and  school  work  we  do  not  make 
use  of  the  principles  we  have  taught,"  said  Miss  Preston. 

"Will  you  illustrate  your  meaning?"  inquired  Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Just  this  will  do  it :  in  our  grammar  classes  we  teach 
the  declension  of  the  personal  pronouns,  giving  the  first 
person  singular  the  formal  'me'  in  the  objective  —  and  yet 
many  of  us  almost  invariably  say :  '  It  is  for  you  and  I ' — 
merely  because  we  do  not  think.  It  isn't  because  we  do 
not  know;  but  having  learned  grammar  theoretically  we 
neglect  its  practice." 

"  How  do  you  avoid  this  trouble,  Miss  Preston  ?  I  have 
heard  that  your  schools  were  almost  models  of  careful 
speech,"  said  Miss  Wood. 

"  Thank  you.  I  fully  believe  in  the  Scriptural  injunction 
to  '  Watch '  in  this  line,  at  least.  Nowhere  do  we  so  often 
betray  ourselves  as  by  our  speech,  and  as  teachers  we  should 
be  exemplars  in  this  as  in  other  things." 

"That  is  so  —  but  I  want  the  prescription  for  the  '  Balm 
in  Gilead'  or  the  balm  itself,"  said  Miss  Wood. 

"To  be  brief,  then,"  responded  Miss  Preston,  "  I  bid  every 


94 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


one  watch,  and  begin  the  work  myself.  I  inspect  all  the  writ- 
ten work  with  that  in  view,  and  look  out  for  oral  lapses,  ask- 
ing each  pupil  to  do  the  same.  Each  one  keeps  a  note  book 
in  which  he  records  any  error  of  speech  which  he  hears;  and 
on  a  certain  day  in  the  week  we  have  a  general  exercise 
in  grammar.  All  participate ;  books  are  laid  aside,  and 
from  three  to  half  a  dozen  pupils  are  selected  to  write  at 
the  blackboard  ;  those  at  their  seats  take  turns  in  reading 
from  their  note  books  whatever  they  have  accumulated,  and 
these  sentences  are  put  upon  the  board  by  those  who  have 
been  selected  to  write.  When  that  is  all  done  as  many 
readers  are  chosen  as  there  have  been  copyists,  and  as  each 
phrase  or  sentence  is  read  I  call  upon  some  one  to  point  out 
the  error,  some  one  else  ( at  times  I  call  for  a  '  concert ' 
answer )  to  correct  it  and  tell  why  it  was  wrong,  giving  the 
rule  that  covers  the  case." 

"  Now  that  strikes  me  favorably,  very,"  said  Mr.  Johnson 
reflectively,  "although  I've  never  heard  of  grammar  being 
taught  in  that  way.  But  you  say  'Giving  the  rule  that 
covers  the  case.'  That  implies  a  previous  learning  of  tech- 
nical rules,  does  it  not  ? " 

"  Yes.  As  often  as  my  school  can  digest  a  short  lesson  in 
grammar  I  give  them  one,  always  teaching  objectively  where 
possible  —  and  afterwards  reducing  the  matter  to  writing. 
Then  I  give  several  days  to  the  elucidation  and  elaboration 
of  the  principle  just  taught.  We  get  illustrations  daily,  and 
from  everywhere  ;  and  we  so  make  practical  what  we  learn 
—  and  only  the  practical  in  grammar  seems  worth  while, 
when  there  is  so  much  to  learn  that  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  our  best  development." 

"But,  Miss  Preston,  do  you  never  use  a  book  in  your 
classes  ?  "  queried  Miss  Wells. 


WA  YS  AND  MEANS.  95 

''Oh,  yes,  sometimes,  but  not  for  an  every-day  diet  as  it 
were,"  and  she  laughed.  "Where  standard  authors  differ  in 
methods,  principle,  or  definition,  I  present  the  different 
views  and  the  reasons  given  ;  and  at  times  I  quote  author- 
ities to  substantiate  my  own  statement.  My  pupils  keep 
note  books  in  which  they  enter  the  main  part  of  each  les- 
son ;  and  each  one  owns  a  text  book,  to  be  used  for  refer- 
ence or  for  a  set  lesson  whenever  necessary." 

"  I  should  think  it  would  take  an  ordinary  life  time  to  get 
ready  to  teach  grammar  in  this  way,"  said  Miss  Smith. 

"  Some  longer,  perhaps,  than  in  the  ordinary  way,"  said 
Miss  Preston,  "  but  it  pays,  in  that  it  saves  the  child  from 
the  almost  universal  dread  of  studying  grammar,  and  from 
the  uselessness  of  much  of  it,  besides  saving  time  for  other 
things,  from  what  is  usually  given  to  that  study." 

"We  will  begin  the  September  Term  in  the  study  of 
grammar  under  Miss  Preston's  direction,"  said  Mr.  John- 
son hopefully,  "  and  I  believe  that  it  will  result  in  good  in 
more  directions  than  those  mentioned.  Meanwhile,  we  will 
ponder  on  these  things  and  study  ways  and  means;"  and  we 
disbanded  with  a  feeling  of  gladness  that  this  "bugbear"  of 
the  common  school  has  at  last  been  chained. 

Before  closing  I  will  illustrate  Miss  Preston's  method  by 
giving  two  or  three  examples  taken  from  the  blackboard  in 
my  own  room,  as  they  were  written  and  corrected  in  our 
to-day's  exercise. 

"  This  is  the  sunniest  side  of  the  street." 

TEACHER  :     "John,  what  is  wrong  about  this  ?  " 

JOHN  :     "Why,  the  word  '  sunniest"  is  not  right." 

TEACHER:     "Correct  it,  please,  and  tell  why  it  is  wrong." 

JOHN:     "  Sunnier  should  have  been  used,  as  that  is  the  comparative 


96  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

form  for  the  word  sunny ;  and  the  superlative  form  'sunniest'  must  not 
be  used  unless  there  are  more  than  two  things  to  be  compared." 

TEACHER  :  "  Yes,  and  a  street  has  only  two  sides.  Mary  Fields,  you 
may  read  and  correct  the  next  sentence." 

MARY:  "The  sentence  reads:  'The  candy  is  for  you  and  I."  I 
think  it  should  be  for  you  and  me,'  but  can't  tell  why." 

TEACHER  :  "I  will  call  for  volunteer  information."  ( Dozens  of  hands 
are  raised  to  signify  their  owner's  knowledge  on  the  point,  one  of  whom 
is  chosen  to  speak.) 

CHARLES  :  ' '  Why,  the  case  is  wrong.  The  nominative  form  has  been 
used,  when  it  should  be  objective  after  the  preposition  for" 

TEACHER  :     "  Can  you  give  the  rule?" 

CHARLES:  "Yes,  ma'am.  We  had  that  rule  last  week.  'A  noun  or 
pronoun  is  in  the  objective  case  when  it  is  used  as  the  object  of  a  verb  or 
preposition.' " 

TEACHER;     "Very  good.     Now  do  you  understand  it,  Mary?" 

MARY:  "Not  quite.  I  do  not  see  how  he  knew  whether  'I'  was 
nominative  or  objective." 

TEACHER:  "Mary,  can  you  decline  a  personal  pronoun  which  is  in 
the  first  person,  singular  number?" 

MARY:  "No,  ma'am,  I  am  sure  I  can  not.  I  do  not  believe  I  ever 
knew." 

TEACHER:  "Charles,  give  it  please.  Mary  has  come  among  us  so 
recently  that  she  has  not  learned  that  yet." 

CHARLES:     "  Nominative  /,  possessive  my  or  mine,  objective  me." 

TEACHER  :     "  Now  do  you  see,  Mary  ?  " 

MARY :  "Yes,  ma'am.  I  felt  quite  sure  it  ought  to  be  objective  —  but 
I  could  not  tell  how  he  knew  which  was  objective." 

TEACHER  :  "  Very  good.  Now  we  will  take  the  next  one.  Lily,  you 
may  read  it." 

LILY  :     "  He  don't  do  so." 

TEACHER  :     "  Can  you  correct  it  ?  " 

LILY  :     "I  think  so.     Should  it  not  be :  'He  does  n't  do  so  '  ? " 

TEACHER  :     "  Yes  ;  but  tell  us  why,  please." 

LILY  :  "  Don't  is  an  allowable  contraction  for  do  not,  and  we  should 
say  does  not,  if  we  said  it  in  full." 


EXAMPLES.  97 

TEACHER  :     "  Give  us  the  rule  for  that  if  you  can,  please." 

LILY  :     "  Verbs  must  agree  with  their  subjects  in  person  and  number." 

These  are  samples,  merely,  of  the  method,  which   you 
must  see  in  use  to  get  an  idea  of  its  scope  and  thorough- 
ness.    Hoping  that  you  may,  I  remain 
'  Yours,  Cordially, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


98  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XIX. 
WHISPERING. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  May  22,  188-. 

MR. ,  State  Supt.,  etc. 

My  Dear  Sir :  —  We  were  somewhat  startled,  at  our  last 
meeting,  to  hear  Mr.  Wheeler  plead  somewhat  vehemently 
for  a  symposium  on  "Whispering  —  the  Evil  and  its  Cure." 

"  I  am  sure,"  he  said,  "  that  if  I  don't  get  and  keep  it  out 
of  my  school,  untold  and  almost  unqualified  bad  discipline 
will  result.  It  is  the  one  thing  against  which  I  feel  com- 
pelled to  wage  a  constant  warfare ;  and  yet,  like  Banquo's 
ghost,  it  will  not  '  down '  but  rises  and  confronts  me  daily, 
constantly." 

"I  have  felt  the  same  desperation  regarding  the  same 
evil,"  said  Miss  Wood ;  "  and  I've  resorted  to  every  device 
that  has  been  brought  to  my  notice  to  break  up  the  perni- 
cious habit,  but  without  any  staying  results." 

"  It  used  to  trouble  me,  at  first,"  said  Miss  Smith,  "but  of 
late  my  interest  has  been  so  centered  in  the  general  work  of 
the  school  that  I've  almost  forgotten  about  the  old  enemy." 

I  saw  Miss  Preston  smile  a  little  quizzically,  and  I  knew 
that  she  had  a  theory  of  her  own  on  the  subject,  which  I 
thought  would  be  brought  to  light  sooner  or  later,  so  waited 
in  patience. 

"  I've  never  been  much  annoyed  by  it  myself."  said  Mr. 


FAIR    PL  A  Y. 


99 


Stephens.  "  I  supposed  it  was  a  '  part  of  the  play  '  to  whis- 
per. In  fact  I  don't  see  how  one  can  well  get  along  without 
it,  if  he's  either  social  or  enthusiastic." 

"I  am  with  you  in  sentiment,  in  part,  at  least,"  said  Miss 
Preston,  "and  I  have  but  little  faith  in  most  of  the  'devices' 
that  put  children  upon  so  unnatural  a  strain  as  to  require 
them  to  desist  entirely  from  using  the  God-given  boon  of 
speech,  under  pains  and  penalties." 

Here  was  a  mess !  For  we  had  been  taught  to  look  upon 
whispering  as  one  of  the  cardinal  sins  of  the  schoolroom, 
and  the  whisperer  as  a  criminal  whom  nothing  could  rescue 
from  an  ignominious  fate. 

"Why,"  said  Miss  Smith,  "do  you  ever  allow  it  in  your 
schools  ? " 

"  Under  certain  restrictions,  yes,"  said  Miss  Preston, 
cheerfully. 

"  Will  you  kindly  name  some  of  the  restrictions  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  Johnson. 

"  With  pleasure,"  she  responded  heartily.  "  In  the  first 
place  I  ask  only  what  I  judge  to  be  reasonable,  and  am  quite 
sure  to  get  this.  I  say,  early  in  my  acquaintance  with  my 
school  and  its  needs,  'Children,  it  isn't  fair  for  some  of 
you  to  have  or  take  privileges  that  all  may  not  share,  is  it  ?  ' 
And  the  average  boy  is  quite  easily  touched  in  regard  to 
fair  play.  Then  I  try  to  show  how,  by  whispering,  one  may 
disturb  two  or  three  and  have  a  bad  influence  upon  many 
more.  I  also  provide  times  when  all  may  whisper  at  once." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Well,  there  is  often  a  reason  for  the  whisper.  A  child 
may  have  been  absent  when  the  lesson  was  announced,  and 
not  know  where  to  study ;  or  tardy  when  something  of  ira- 


loo  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

portance  occurred,  and,  childlike,  he'll  want  to  know  about 
it.  Through  misfortune,  carelessness,  or  accident,  he  may 
be  without  the  books  or  materials  needed  for  his  lessons, 
which  can  not  be  learned  until  these  are  procured ;  and  I 
prefer  to  have  the  necessary  whispering  all  done  at  one  time." 

"How  often  do  you  give  them  this  opportunity?  "  asked 
Mr.  Wheeler,  interested. 

"  Once  during  each  session." 

"  But  does  not  this  consume  a  great  deal  of  time  ?  "  que- 
ried Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Oh,  no.  One  of  the  very  first  things  I  try  to  teach  is 
prompt  obedience;  and  as  the  children  know  what  the  bell 
signifies,  and  obey  it  very  promptly,  five  minutes  is  ample 
for  each  whispering  recess." 

"  I  should  think  it  would  almost  save  that  and  more,  in 
the  long  run,"  said  Miss  Miller. 

"It  does,"  replied  Miss  Preston.  "  I  take  the  same  time  to 
answer  general  questions  that  must  be  asked  some  time,  and 
that  arise,  for  reasons  similar  to  those  that  almost  necessitate 
whispering." 

"  Then  you  do  not  permit  questions  to  be  asked  during 
recitation  and  study  hours?  "  suggested  Mr.  Brown. 

"  Certainly  not.  Besides  teaching  the  very  bad  habit  of 
interrupting  —  which  is  likely  to  be  detrimental  to  their 
manners  in  social  life — (and  I  must  soon  give  you  a  synopsis 
of  our  talk  on  "  Manners,"  it  was  so  full  of  good  things)  it 
does  break  up  the  line  of  study  among  the  listeners.  Con- 
secutive thinking  is  the  only  kind  of  thinking  that  is  really 
valuable;  and  I  am  aiming  to  teach  this,  which  can't  well  be 
done  in  a  room  that  is  always  giving  out  sound." 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  Johnson  ;   "  and  while  you've  demon- 


WHISPERING  CONTROLLED.  1Oi 

strated  a  show  of  necessity  for  some  whispering,  you  have 
shown  that  it  may  be  managed  so  as  not  to  be  the  unmiti- 
gated evil  that  we  have  generally  considered  it." 

"  I  have  usually  found  that  nearly  all  evil  is  more  or  less 
'mitigated'  by  the  germ  of  good  which  it  may  contain," 
assented  Miss  Preston;  "and  by  teaching  children  to  respect 
the  rights  of  others  at  the  same  time  that  they  guard  their 
own,  we  have  made  a  long  stride  toward  doing  away  with 
whispering.  'A  time  and  a  place  for  everything  '  is  another 
principle  which,  thoroughly  taught,  will  develop  the  thought 
that  whispering  may  become  a  nuisance  if  done  at  the  wrong 
time." 

"  Your  reasons  for  a  limited  allowance  are  so  good,  and 
your  plans  for  its  management  so  simple,  that  I  think  I 
shall  try  them,"  said  Mr  Wheeler,  hopefully.  "  Like  some 
other  things,  although  a  bad  master  it  may  be  made  a  good 
servant." 

"  I  have  heard  good  teachers  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  nine 
tenths  of  all  the  mischief  done  or  projected  in  school  arose 
from  this  cause,"  responded  Miss  Preston;  "but  I  think  the 
statement  overdrawn,  the  imaginary  evil  magnified.  Still,  I 
should  want  that,  like  any  thing  having  a  downward  tend- 
ency, to  be  within  my  control.  Even  well  drilled  soldiers 
or  sailors  may  get  so  far  beyond  their  superior's  influence  as 
to  mutiny,  if  not  handled  with  judgment  —  and  I  want  my 
school  children  to  respect  themselves  and  love  Right  enough 
to  work  toward  the  best  interests  of  all,  in  this  as  well  as 
other  matters;  so  I  place  it  in  their  hands,  partly,  and  show 
them  how  much  more  and  better  work  they  can  accomplish 
when  whispering  is  regulated  a  little." 

"  Do  you  permit  other  forms  of  communication  except  at 
stated  intervals?"  asked  Mr.  Johnson. 


102  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

Miss  Preston  laughed.  "  Now  I  begin  to  think  you  believe 
I  engrave  my  rules  and  regulations  in  cast  iron;  but  I  don't. 
I  say  simply  this:  'Whisper  if  you  must,  but  be  careful. 
Think,  before  you  do  it;  and  let  the  matter  wait  if  you  can. 
If  it  is  something  imperative,  and  it  will  disturb  less  to  write 
a  note,  do  that.  Avoid  either  when  possible.'  ' 

"  It  seems  to  rne,"  ventured  Mr.  Whipple,  "  that  that  is  like 
opening  a  sluice  way  for  a  freshet." 

"  Call  it  that,  or  a  safety-valve,  or  what  you  will,  there  is 
no  danger  if  you  don't  let  it  get  the  start  of  you,"  said  Miss 
Preston.  "  You  are  engineer,  fireman,  or  what  not,  and 
you  must  manage  the  brakes.  I  only  wanted  to  show  the 
difference  between  rigid,  uncompromising  prohibition,  and 
reasonable  management  of  what  may  be  either  a  help  or  a 
nuisance." 

Her  ideas  on  this  subject  were  new  to  most  of  us,  and  her 
plans  equally  so;  but  we  were  all  "  with  one  consent  "  satis- 
fied that  they  were  at  least  worth  trying.  Hoping  that  some 
others  who  have  "  swamped  "  on  this  question  may  be  helped 
by  our  discussion  of  it,  I  remain, 

Yours  Very  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


SOCIAL   CULTURE.  JC>3 


No.  XX. 

MANNERS. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  June  26,  188-. 
MR.  ,  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

Respected  Sir :  —  Our  little  knot  of  interested  teachers 
took  up  "Manners"  during  one  of  our  spring  meetings; 
and  we  really  gained  something  for  ourselves  as  well  as  for 
our  schools,  by  its  ventilation.  The  parliament  was  opened 
by  Miss  Sigourney,  who  in  an  undertone,  designed  only  for 
Mr.  Brown's  ears,  said  : 

"I  was  amused  -this  morning  on  my  way  here,  to  meet 
Julian  Bristol.  He  doffed  his  soft  felt  hat  to  me,  with  a 
bow  that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  Chesterfield  or  a 
Raleigh." 

Now  Julian  is  one  of  my  big  boys,  of  African  descent, 
graceful,  good  natured,  and  one  of  Miss  Preston's  ardent 
admirers  —  as  all  her  school  children  are  ;  and  at  her  sug- 
gestion I  have  been  giving  my  department  little  lessons, 
hints,  and  talks,  on  social  culture;  and  I  have  been  care- 
fully noting  its  effect  in  the  manners  of  my  pupils,  in  school 
and  on  the  street;  and  Miss  Sigourney's  tone,  more  than 
her  words,  nettled  me  a  little,  and  although  not  addressed 
personally,  I  spurred  up  with  : 

"  Is  it  unusual  for  gentlemen  to  raise  their  hats  to  you, 
Miss  Sigourney  ?" 


104  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

Now  it  was  ill-bred,  and  I  ought  to  have  possessed  my 
soul  in  patience.  Miss  Sigourney,  however,  good-naturedly 
ignored  my  implied  sarcasm,  and  laughed  a  little,  saying, 
gently  for  her  : 

"  Julian  is  only  sixteen ;  and  our  incipient  gentlemen,  of 
such  tender  years,  are  not  usually  masters  of  such  captivat- 
ing manners  as  to  make  it  seem  like  an  every-day  occur- 
rence to  me." 

"  I  am  sure  there  should  be  nothing  unusual  in  such  a  dis- 
play of  courtesy  as  to  make  it  a  target  for  remarks  of  any 
sort,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  a  little  warmly.  "  I  have  n't  noticed 
that  our  boys  and  girls  are  below  the  average  in  politeness." 

"  And  yet,"  said  Mr.  Hopkins,  "it  was  only  yesterday  that 
my  landlady  complained  of  the  '  rabble '  as  she  termed  the 
boys  (boys  who  call  themselves  young  gentlemen,  too,  and 
many  of  them  come  from  families  of  good  social  position ) 
who  came  'tumbling'  pell-mell  out  of  the  High  School  build- 
ing, just  as  she  was  passing.  Some  really  ran  against  her, 
and  nearly  all  were  so  intent  upon  running  that  they  were  as 
oblivious  of  her  presence  on  the  pavement  as  they  were  of 
her  right  to  it.  She  was  quite  disgusted,  and  spoke  with 
some  vehemence  of  a  'system'  that  makes  scholars  at  the 
expense  of  gentlemen." 

"  Now  I  think  she's  hasty  in  condemning  the  system, 
faulty  though  it  may  be,"  said  Miss  Preston,  on  the  defen- 
sive at  once.  "  To  be  sure  the  conduct  was  rude,  inexcus- 
able, may  be;  but  Mrs.  Storrs  never  had  any  children  of  her 
own,  and  her  childhood  is  so  far  in  the  background  that  she 
has  perhaps  forgotten  her  own  impulsive  youth  —  if  it  was 
impulsive ;  and  if  was  n't  she  could  n't  well  understand  such 
a  phase  of  boy-nature." 


AWKWARDNESS  OF    YOUTH.  105 

"  That's  the  key  note  to  much  of  our  trouble  of  every 
description,"  sighed  Mr.  Johnson.  "  We  don't  understand 
ourselves  nor  others,  and  we  look  at  a  thing  from  only  one 
side.  Now  suppose  we  lay  aside  our  plans  for  to-day's 
work,  and  talk  about  '  Civility  :  How  it  may  be  taught  and 
inculcated  in  our  schoolrooms.'  " 

Personally  I  was  very  glad  of  this  suggestion,  for  when  I 
began  to  look  with  my  new  eyes  upon  the  work  before  me 
I  could  see  so  much  uncultivated  "  good  timber  "  before  me 
that  the  magnitude  of  the  work  nearly  overwhelmed  me. 
""  Watch,"  Miss  Preston  had  said  to  me.  "  You  will  see  that 
nine  out  of  ten  do  not  know  how  to  get  out  of  a  room  prop- 
erly when  there  are  others  in  it ;  how  to  terminate  a  call  or 
visit  gracefully  and  pleasantly  ;  how  to  acknowledge  a  favor? 
nor  how  to  make  amends  for  a  blunder."  And  I  had 
watched,  and  had  found  these  things  and  more  —  things 
that  I  wonder  I  had  passed  without  observing  for  so  many 
years.  It  is  just  the  difference  between  machine  work  and 
soul  work  everywhere. 

"Well,"  said  Miss  Sigourney,  "  I  did  not  know  I  was  lead- 
ing up  to  such  a  profound  discussion ;  but  on  the  whole  I 
can  not  regret  it  if  it  opens  my  eyes  as  to  any  good  way  to 
treat  a  matter  that  has  only  troubled  me  a  short  time." 

Mr.  Whipple  was  in  the  chair  that  day,  and  he  said  : 
<4  Perhaps  we  shall  get  at  the  merits  of  the  subject  more 
quickly  if  we  concede  the  great  need  of  work  in  this  field, 
and  confine  our  first  inquiries  as  to  the  best  ways  of  doing 
the  work.  Miss  Ingersoll,  where  would  you  begin  ?  " 

"On  the  'woman'  side  of  the  question,  naturally,"  she 
replied  with  a  laugh.  "  I  would  teach  deference  to  the  sex, 
from  the  youngest  boy  up." 


tog  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  Good,"  said  Mr.  Whipple.  "  But  that  would  only  touch 
a  part  of  creation." 

"  A  very  large  part,  though,"  said  Miss  Ingersoll ;  "  and 
the  boy  who  is  polite  to  his  mother  and  sisters  will  hardly  be 
rude  to  the  rest  of  the  family." 

"True,"  said  Mr.  Whipple,  "and  yet  I  think  we  should 
begin  on  a  broader  basis.  Let  us  hear  from  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Association.  Mr.  Lowell,  where  would  you  place  the 
fundamental  principles  of  good  breeding  ?  " 

"  I  think,"  said  Professor  Lowell,  slowly,  "  that  if  we  place 
selfishness  at  the  base  of  rudeness,  we  shall  find  that  court- 
esy rests  upon  its  opposite  trait." 

"That  is  good,  too,  as  far  as  it  goes,"  said  Mr.  Johnson, 
"but  some  people  who  are  really  unselfish  at  heart  are  not 
models  of  manners." 

"  That  would  suggest  '  tact '  as  an  essential  element  of 
courtesy,"  said  Mr.  Wheeler,  a  little  doubtfully. 

"Yes;  and  it  is  a  good  plank,"  said  Mr.  Whipple  ;  "yet  I 
hardly  think  we  have  gotten  at  the  heart  of  the  matter  yet. 
Let  us  hear  from  the  fair  sex,"  and  he  looked  appealingly 
at  Miss  Preston. 

"  I  would  give  every  child  the  Golden  Rule  as  an  infallible 
general  guide,"  she  responded,  unhesitatingly  ;  "  the  thought 
'  Would  I  like  to  have  such  and  such  things  said  and  done 
to  me,  or  in  my  presence,'  will  often  prompt  to  an  act  of 
civility,  or  restrain  the  performance  of  an  impolite  one. 
But  all  children  and  most  young  people  as  well  as  some 
older  ones  need  specific,  definite  instruction  as  to  how  and 
what  to  do  under  certain  every  day  circumstances." 

"  You  are  surely  right,"  volunteered  Miss  Smith.  "  Only 
last  night  Luella  Hubbard  offended  my  sense  of  propriety 


COURTESY  AS  CAPITAL.  107 

by  returning  a  borrowed  book  without  so  much  as  a  '  Thank 
you,'  when  I  knew  that  she  had  really  derived  a  great  deal 
of  pleasure  from  it,  for  I  had  heard  her  speaking  of  it  in  a 
very  animated  way,  to  a  group  of  girls  and  boys,  about  ten 
minutes  before,  when  I  first  came  into  the  room." 

"Precisely  so,"  said  Miss  Preston  ;  "and  while  we  hardly 
want  to  use  the  argumentum  ad  hominem,  we  can  make  such 
a  circumstance  as  that  the  text  for  a  general  lesson  to  the 
school,  and  with  good  effect." 

"Yes,"  observed  Mr.  Whipple,  "it  is  without  difficulty 
that  I  recall  my  own  spasmodic  efforts  to  do  the  agreeable  to 
a  little  blonde  of  sixteen,  while  I  was  yet  in  the  transition 
period  and  frock  coats,"  and  he  laughed  at  the  recollection. 

That  laugh  did  us  all  good,  and  it  gave  us  a  sort  of 
fraternal  feeling  that  was  eminently  good  for  the  topic  under 
consideration. 

"  And  if  those  efforts  had  been  well  directed,  instead  of 
'  spasmodic,'  I  dare  say  you  would  have  been  successful," 
laughed  Miss  Sigourney,  a  little  mischievously.  "  Now  I 
think  Julian  Bristol  has  made  a  good  start  in  the  world." 

"  And  so  he  has,"  said  Mr.  Whipple,  with  energy.  "  When 
he  goes  out  to  hunt  up  a  place  to  work,  if  he  knows  what  to 
do  with  his  hands,  when  to  take  off  his  hat,  how  to  speak 
when  necessary  and  when  not  to,  and  dozens  of  other  things 
that  have  a  commercial  value,  he  has  a  much  better  chance 
to  get  the  place  he  wants  than  if  he  has  the  uncultivated 
manners  of  the  average  boy." 

"  I  had  n't  thought  of  these  things  before.  It  is  strange," 
said  Mr.  Johnson,  seriously;  "but  I  believe  that  we  ought 
not  to  neglect  this  part  of  any  child's  education." 

"Nor   ought    we,"    said    Miss    Preston.     "Manners   and 


I08  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

morals  are  really  as  essential  as  geography  and  grammar. 
But  we  can  not  teach,  in  these  things,  farther  than  we  go  by 
example.  We  can  not  consistently  exact  politeness  if  we 
do  not  use  it.  If  we  teach  our  girls  and  boys  to  salute  us 
with  '  Good  Morning  '  when  they  come  in,  and  '  Good  after- 
noon '  when  they  go  out,  it  must  be  as  much  by  example  as 
by  precept." 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  suggestions  thrown  out  ;  but  I 
have  always  noted  in  Miss  Preston's  association  with  her 
pupils  that  she  observes  even  the  least  of  these  "  small, 
sweet  courtesies,"  prefacing  every  request,  however  insig- 
nificant, with  "  Please,"  receiving  every  favor  with  "  Thank 
you,"  "  I'm  obliged  to  you,"  or  something  equally  courteous 
—  never  saying  "  Thanks,"  as  is  a  prevalent  custom,  denom- 
inating it  as  "  decidedly  curt  "  and  "  next  to  nothing."  And 
they  are  influenced  by  her  manners;  we  can  all  see  that,  and 
many  have  spoken  of  it  to 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


A  CONTRAST.  109 


No.  XXI. 
DRESS. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  13,  188- 
MR. ,  State  Supt. 

My  Dear  Sir:  —  The  subject  of  "Dress"  seemed  to 
follow  so  naturally  that  of  "  Manners,"  that  we  entered 
upon  its  consideration  informally  and  without  a  previous 
announcement. 

Miss  Sigourney  presided ;  and  when  I  tell  you  that  she 
is  as  remarkable  for  her  lack  of  concern  in  her  personal 
appearance  as  she  is  for  her  good  nature — which  is  almost 
traditional  —  you  will  say: 

"The  two  too  often  accompany  each  other." 

To-day  she  had  on  a  dress  which  was  considerably  soiled, 
a  none-too-clean  collar,  and  her  hair  was  in  a  state  !  This, 
too,  when  she  was  to  preside  at  a  teachers'  meeting !  !  I 
was  sorry  for  her  as  soon  as  I  saw  the  "  tone  "  the  meeting 
was  likely  to  assume,  for  I  felt  sure  she  would  have  her 
sensitive  nature  wounded ;  but,  would  you  believe  it  ?  she 
remained  —  or  seemed  —  perfectly  oblivious  of  her  toilet 
and  its  imperfections.  Miss  Whitney  sat  near,  and  a  more 
perfect  contrast  can  not  be  imagined.  Older,  by  some  years, 
than  Miss  Sigourney,  every  last  little  speck  of  dust  brushed 
from  her  garments,  with  spotless  linen,  a  dress  that  fitted  as 
though  she  were  "  run  "  into  it,  hair  so  smooth  and  glossy 


no  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

that  you  could  almost  see  yourself  in  it,  you  would  have 
felt  almost  instinctively  that  she  would  almost  parse  her 
sentences  before  giving  them  utterance,  and  that  she  would 
never  move  in  unseemly  haste.  She  is  a  fairly  good  teacher, 
cold,  but  moderately  successful  notwithstanding.  But  I 
must  stop  descriptions  if  I  recapitulate  with  any  degree  of 
fullness. 

Mr.  Brown  began  by  some  light  remark  about  the  aesthetic 
tendencies  of  the  education  of  the  day. 

"  Now  I  think  that  is  to  be  encouraged,"  observed  Mr. 
Johnson.  "  I  have  only  been  thinking  of  it  at  all  of  late  ; 
but  I  believe,  with  Miss  Preston,  that  the  impressions  of 
early  childhood  are  more  potent  for  good  or  evil  than  we 
are  generally  aware;  and  that  their  influence  is  almost  incal- 
culable. By  our  own  appearance,  even,  we  may  foster  a 
taste  that  will  become  vitiated ;  or  we  may  sow  seeds  that 
will  develop  into  a  really  artistic  sense." 

"  I  believe  you,"  echoed  Miss  Sigourney,  oblivious  that  she 
was  condemning  herself  by  assenting  to  the  popular  idea. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Johnson,  do  you  really  suppose  that  the  dress 
we  wear,  or  the  condition  of  our  hair,  teeth,  or  nails,  have 
any  bearing,  direct  or  indirect,  upon  our  pupils?  "  and  Miss 
Wells  looked  incredulous  as  she  asked  it. 

"Allow  me  to  answer,  please,  Mr.  Johnson,"  interrupted 
Professor  Lowell,  his  face  aglow.  "Among  my  earliest  recol- 
lections are  those  of  an  old  man  whose  memory  I  revere,  but 
of  whose  personal  appearance  I  can  not,  even  now,  think 
without  a  feeling  of  disgust.  Good,  he  undoubtedly  was; 
that  he  was  actually  repulsive  in  his  toilet  is  no  less  true ; 
hair  unkempt,  teeth  that  were  equally  guilty  of  a  brush  and 
of  any  dental  skill,  nails  that  were  in  a  constant  condition 


A    PINK  DRESS.  Hi 

of  crape,  boots  which  never  seemed  to  come  into  any  close 
relations  with  brush  or  polish,  and  other  garments  on  which 
the  dust  of  ages  would  seem  to  have  settled  as  if  they'd 
found  a  sure  abiding  place." 

We  did  laugh  at  the  pen  picture,  a  little,  but  Professor 
Lowell  went  on : 

"  He  had  many  fine  instincts,  many  delicate,  refined  ideas, 
incongruous  as  they  seem.  But  I  did  not  discover  this  so 
early  in  my  acquaintance  as  I  should  if  the  evidence  had 
not  been  so  strongly  against  him." 

"  Precisely  so,"  said  Mr.  Johnson;  "and  this  just  corrobo- 
rates what  I  said  at  first.  But  I  would  like  to  hear  some  of 
the  lady  teachers  speak  on  this  subject." 

"  I  remember  one  thing,  in  the  early  days  of  my  teaching," 
said  Miss  Preston,  "  that  made  quite  an  impression  on  me. 
One  of  my  little  girls  came  up  to  me,  one  afternoon,  and 
said  as  she  laid  her  hand  caressingly  upon  my  arm,  '  Miss 
Preston,  if  we'll  be  real  good  this  week  will  you  wear  that 
lovely  pink  dress  Friday  afternoon  that  you  had  on  at  home 
the  other  day  ? '  Without  giving  the  matter  a  second 
thought  I  said  'Why  yes;  of  course  I  will,'  and  dismissed 
the  subject  from  my  mind.  Friday  morning  came,  and  with 
it  came  a  reminder  from  Lily:  '  Don't  forget  your  promise, 
Miss  Preston.'  And  I  didn't,  but  wore  the  dress  that  had 
been  designed  specially  for  home  wear,  simply  to  please  the 
child  who  asked  me  to." 

"  Did  it  have  any  visible  effect  ?  "  interrupted  Miss  Wells, 
interested. 

"  I  was  just  coming  to  that,  as  it's  the  best  part  of  the 
experience,"  Miss  Preston  answered.  "As  I  came  up  the 
walk  I  heard  a  group  of  small  children  discussing  their 


II2  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

teachers,  and  being  behind  them,  I  soon  heard  my  name; 
and  they  were  using  it  as  a  sort  of  symbol  for  beauty,  purity, 
truth,  goodness  and  all  the  cardinal  virtues  combined.  I 
lagged  behind,  and  pondered.  All  the  afternoon  I  observed 
that  things  moved  most  easily.  A  word  was  more  than 
sufficient,  a  look  amply  so;  and  it  was  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  pink  dress." 

"  Are  you  sure  it  was  that  ?  "  queried  Mr.  Bishop. 

"  I  am.  Circumstances  developed  this  afterwards,  in  a 
way  that  would  have  dissolved  any  lingering  doubts  if  they 
had  existed  in  my  mind." 

"  I  can  readily  believe  that,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.  "  I  have 
recently  made  observations  which  convince  me  that  the 
more  tastefully  a  person  dresses,  the  more  attractive  one  is, 
the  greater  his  influence  everywhere,  and  correspondingly 
greater  his  commercial  value." 

"  What  would  you  suggest  for  good,  every  day  material, 
Miss  Preston  ?  "  queried  Miss  Miller. 

"  Of  all  things  I  would  say  avoid  goods  with  soft,  wooly 
surfaces.  They  catch  dust,  chalk,  and  fuzz,  in  the  school- 
room; and  thistles,  burrs,  and  'corners'  outside.  Serges, 
alpacas,  and  similar  goods  for  winter ;  cambrics,  percales, 
etc.,  for  summer." 

"  And  what  colors  ?  "  asked  Miss  Wood. 

"  Greys,  browns,  olives,  dark  greens,  blues,  maroons;  any- 
thing, in  fact,  but  black.  A  dull  or  neutral  tint,  for  the  main 
dress  is  always  '  good  form ; '  and  this  may  be  garnished  by 
a  bright  ribbon,  a  bunch  of  flowers,  or  set  trimming.  Then 
I  would  have  one  or  more  bright  dresses  for  special  occa- 
sions, as  we  have  condiments  with  our  staple  food." 

"  Mr.  Johnson  can  you  suggest  a  toilet  for  the  male  per- 
suasion ?  "  queried  Mr.  Wheeler. 


THE  LITTLE   FOXES.  113 

u  Oh,  I  think  they  can  all  draw  inferences  from  this  talk, 
without  going  into  details.  But,"  and  he  spoke  earnestly, 
"  we  must  all  remember  that  the  little  foxes  spoil  the  vines." 
We  separated  soon  after  this,  but  each  went  home  think- 
ing of  the  silent  influence  of  the  seemingly  unimportant 
factor  in  our  make-up,  Dress.  Why  the  very  idea  that  good 
taste  in  dressing  has  a  moral  aspect  and  a  commercial  value 
was  new  to  many  of  us;  and  yet  it  is  reasonable.  That  it  is 
potent  in  giving  first  impressions  concerning  us  is  none  the 
less  true,  and  it  is  the  first  impressions  that  tell.  Where  is 
the  end  of  its  power  ? 
I  remain, 

Very  Cordially  Yours, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


1£4 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXII. 

PENMANSHIP. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  October  29,  188-. 
MR. ,  Supt.,  etc. 

Dear  Sir :  —  The  question  of  Penmanship,  in  its  various 
phases,  has  been  agitating  us  for  some  weeks.  Allan  Eddy's 
mother  broached  the  subject  at  one  of  the  sewing  societies 
with  which  our  little  city  is  blessed  ;  and  behold !  every 
mother  present  was  full  of  pent  up  feeling  on  the  subject. 

"Al  can  hardly  write  his  name  legibly,"  said  the  little 
woman,  snapping  her  teeth  together  as  she  bit  off  her 
thread.  Had  her  eyes  not  twinkled  a  little  bit  you  might 
have  thought  her  more  out  of  patience  than  she  really  was. 

"  Neither  can  Will,"  chimed  in  Mrs.  Cramer ;  "  and  it 
seems  to  me  as  though  a  boy  of  twelve  years  ought  to  be 
able  to  do  himself  and  his  teacher  credit  by  his  writing." 

"  My  stars !  Wayne  writes  as  if  ink  were  the  cheapest 
commodity  in  the  world  and  he  had  an  unlimited  supply  of 
it,  and  was  under  bond  to  use  it  all  within  a  given  time  and 
on  a  given  space,"  laughed  Mrs.  Gallup. 

"/  don't  think  it  is  any  laughing  matter,"  said  Mrs. 
Hoard.  "  Harry  actually  writes  more  indistinctly  now  than 
he  did  when  he  entered  the  Junior  Grade." 

And  so  they  chatted,  witn  no  word  of  excuse  or  pallia- 
tion, nothing  but  fault  finding  and  criticism  of  the  system 


RAPIDITY.  II5 

that  develops  such  poor  writers  from  what,  in  some  instances 
at  least,  gave  promise  of  being  such  good  material. 

At  last,  Mrs.  Ripley  spoke  :  "  Frank  is  doing  very  nicely. 
I  believe  that  I  have  never  seen  any  better  penmanship  than 
his  gives  promise  of  being.  There  is  nothing  showy  about 
it ;  but  it  is  neat,  legible,  and  rapid." 

"  Rapid.  Yes,  I  can  easily  believe  that  it  is  rapid,"  said 
Mrs.  Breese.  "  Agatha  complains  to  me  nearly  every  day 
that  she  'misses '  in  half  of  her  lessons  because  they  are  dic- 
tated and  she  cannot  '  keep  up.'  " 

"Fred  does  not  seem  to  have  any  trouble  on  that  score," 
said  Mrs.  Tyler,  quietly.  "  I  heard  him  telling  Ella  Wil- 
coxen  the  other  day  that  at  their  recent  examination  in 
spelling  and  penmanship  Miss  Preston  gave  them  a  hundred 
words,  timed  them,  and  from  the  moment  of  her  pronounc- 
ing the  first  word  until  the  last  paper  was  signed,  folded  and 
labeled,  it  was  just  thirty-seven  minutes." 

"  Oh,  well,  he  and  Frank  Ripley  are  both  in  the  other 
ward  and  are  under  Miss  Preston's  tuition,"  said  Mrs.  Eddy; 
"  and  she  seems  to  get  at  the  '  how  '  to  do  everything  in  her 
line,  with  the  very  best  results.  I  only  wish  my  three  boys 
could  be  in  her  school." 

And  so  the  question  came  to  be  agitated,  until  finally  its 
magnitude  made  it  seem  a  "  thing  of  evil "  and  it  came  up 
for  conference  and  debate  at  our  next  session.  Without 
parley  or  preliminary,  and  as  though  no  one  else's  method  or 
opinion  were  worth  discussing  at  all,  "  Miss  Preston,"  said 
Mr.  Johnson,  with  a  dash  of  his  old,  imperative  tone,  "  come  ; 
tell  us  how  you  manage  to  get  so  good  results,  in  so  short  a 
time,  and  with  so  little  trouble." 

"Why,  it  is  so  easy,"  and  she  smiled;    "it  is  simply  to 


Il6  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

begin  right,  and  to  begin  early  enough,  before  the  muscles 
become  hardened  or  bad  habits  are  formed.  Patience,  then, 
and  care,  coupled  with  constant  vigilance,  make  good  pen- 
men of  even  very  young  girls  and  boys." 

"  That  is  good  for  all  except  definiteness,"  said  Mr. 
Brown  ;  "  but  will  you  not  add  to  its  value,  by  telling  us 
just  how  and  when  you  begin,  and  how  you  proceed  ?  " 

"  With  great  pleasure.  The  day  a  child  is  old  enough  to 
be  presented  for  admission  into  my  school  room  he  is  none 
too  young  to  use  the  implements  of  war ;  and  he  begins  his 
career  by  holding  his  pencil  properly  while  he  plays  with  his 
slate,  if  he  is  not  more  than  five  or  six  years  old.  He  is 
awkward  at  first,  unless  he  has  had  home  or  kindergarten 
training ;  but  he  can  be  taught  When  he  can  '  make 
marks '  with  his  pencil  in  position  I  let  him  now  and  then 
hold  a  pen  and  '  write '  if  he  is  ambitious  to  do  as  he  sees 
the  older  pupils  doing.  A  little  drill  each  day,  of  the 
chubby  hands;  a  guiding  toward  a  definite  object;  some- 
times a  slate  pencil  against  the  hard  surface  of  the  slate, 
sometimes  a  crayon  at  the  blackboard,  then  a  lead  pencil, 
with  now  and  then  a  pen  and  ink,  and  he  becomes  and 
keeps  interested  in  the  variety  of  tools  that  he  has  been 
handling." 

"  But,  Miss  Preston,  do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  let  mere 
babies  use  a  pen  and  ink  in  your  school  ?  We  have  never 
given  it  to  them  until  the  second  year  of  the  Senior  Grade  ;  " 
and  Mr.  Johnson  looked  a  little  aghast  at  the  possibility  of  a 
fatal  experiment. 

"  No,  not '  mere  babies," "  she  responded  cheerfully.  "  The 
youngest  '  nursery  stock  '  has  never  been  turned  over  to  my 
tender  mercies  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  children  are  brought 


GOOD   RESULTS. 


117 


within  my  jurisdiction  they  are  given  pen  and  ink,  under  my 
( or  some  one  else's )  guardian  care,  at  not-too-frequent 
intervals,  and  they  learn  to  use  them  without  stabbing  them- 
selves with  the  one  or  deluging  themselves  or  their  neighbors 
with  the  other." 

"  Is  it  possible  ? " 

"  Yes ;  and  by  the  time  they  are  seven  or  eight  years  old 
they  write  quite  legibly  ;  and  I  have  had  those  who  did 
credit  to  themselves,  even  as  young  as  that." 

"  Miss  Preston,  I  wish  you  would  begin  at  the  initial  step 
and  tell  us  just  how  you  accomplish  the  desired  result,"  said 
Mr.  Johnson,  with  interest. 

"  It  varies  with  the  patient  and  the  circumstances,"  she 
replied,  smiling.  "  For  instance :  what  I  would  do  with  a 
class  in  the  primary  room,  knowing  that  that  year  or  two 
would  be  all  that  I  would  see  of  them,  and  that  the  subject 
would  be  ignored  for  the  next  two  or  three  years  by  my  suc- 
cessors ( as  it  nearly  always  is  until  the  children  are  in  the 
Junior  Grade )  would  be  entirely  different  from  what  I 
would  do  with  a  more  mature  class,  or  with  a  class  which  I 
expected  to  stay  with  for  two,  three,  or  more,  years." 

"I  can  readily  see  that  —  but  as  we  have  all  these  con- 
ditions represented  here,  suppose  you  give  us  a  brief  outline 
of  your  work  under  each  of  these  varying  circumstances," 
and  he  looked  appealingly  at  the  one  teacher  on  whom  he 
seems  to  rely  for  advice  and  real  help.  Oh,  it  is  worth 
something  to  know  that  one's  work  can  be  relied  upon  — 
that  it  will  stand  the  tests  of  time  and  result ;  and  this  must 
be  an  inspiration  to  Miss  Preston,  as  I  hope  it  may  come  to 
be  to  Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXIII 

PENMANSHIP.     (Continued.} 

"  Well,  I  will  begin  with  a  supposed  class  of  children  in 
the  Primary  Grade,  who  have  already  learned  to  hold  their 
pencils,  but  who  know  little  of  form.  One  thing  right  here 
—  to  all  classes  I  would  hold  up  as  good  a  copy  as  I  could 
make  while  they  watch." 

"Why  then,  in  preference  to  doing  it  in  their  absence?" 
queried  Miss  Butler. 

"  Because  it  helps  them  see  how  —  where  to  begin  any 
given  stroke,  how  carried,  and  in  what  way  it  is  finished. 
My  teaching  of  the  subject  will  doubtless  seem  childlike  to 
most  of  you  —  but  I  can  not  teach  children  in  any  other 
way.  I  begin  somewhat  after  this  fashion  —  having  drawn 
some  lines  of  various  sizes  and  shapes,  and  at  various  angles, 
on  the  board : 

Children,  what  have  I  done  ? 

Been  making  marks  —  some  one  will  be  likely  to  venture. 

Yes;  and  we  call  them  lines.     Are  they  all  alike  ? 

No,  ma'am.  Some  of  'em  tip  ( slant )  and  some  of  'em 
•stand  up  straight,  and  some  bend  around. 

Yes,  and  each  kind  has  a  name;  those  that  stand  up  are 
•called  straight  lines,  and  those  that  bend  are  called  curves 
or  curved  lines;  and  I  make  more,  asking  them  to  name 
them  as  I  do  so.  Then  from  these  two  kinds  I  develop  the 


CL  A  SSI  PICA  TION. 


119 


first  letter  of  simple  form,  the  letter  /  of  the  small  alphabet, 
at  the  same  time  explaining  the  right  curve  and  the  left 
curve  of  penmanship.  Having  assured  myself  that  they  can 
name  its  parts  whenever  seen  and  wherever  found,  I  let 
them  write  while  I  'call  off.'  That  is  usually  enough  for 
one  lesson  for  so  young  a  class,  and  at  the  next  lesson  I 
review  this  and  take  up  a  new  one,  n,  and  combine  the  two 
in  a  word.  I  always  find  great  delight  at  the  idea  of  writing 
words,  so  I  begin  early,  and  give  a  new  one  as  often  as 
possible,  so  that  they  will  not  tire  of  the  work.  I  group  the 
letters,  according  to  their  formation,  and  do  not  attempt  a 
new  principle  or  combination  without  special  preparation  of 
the  lesson  myself,  made  with  particular  reference  to  the 
class  that  is  to  receive  it.  I  teach  from  analysis,  compare 
one  letter  with  another,  different  parts  of  the  same  letter 
with  each  other  —  and  teach  the  children  to  use  their  eyes,, 
and  brains,  as  well  as  their  fingers,  in  writing." 

"  How  do  you  divide  the  small  letters  ?  Into  how  many 
and  what  classes  ?  "  inquired  Mr.  Wheeler. 

"  Into  four  classes :  the  short  letters,  the  stem  letters,  the 
loop  and  the  inverted  loop  letters,"  she  replied. 

"  Do  you  use  copy  books  at  all  ?  "  inquired  Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Never.  The  copy  should  be  made  by  the  living  teacher, 
for  the  reasons  before  given ;  and  it  should  be  produced 
upon  the  child's  mind  so  accurately  that  if  a  wrong  pro- 
portion is  used,  or  an  imperfect  line  —  a  right  curve  for  a 
left,  or  a  sharp  turn  for  a  round  one,  they  will  be  able  to 
remedy  it." 

"  Nor  tracing  books  ?  " 

"Never.  Nothing  but  ordinary  foolscap  paper,  cut  in 
halves  for  convenience,  across.  I  put  a  general  copy  on  the 


I20  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

blackboard,  analyze  it,  get  the  children  to  work,  and  then 
go  among  them  and  examine  their  work  —  finding  the  most 
common  troubles,  and  calling  attention  to  what  I  have  seen 
without  mentioning  any  names,  try  again.  Then  if  I  find 
any  one  perpetuating  the  same  mistakes  I  make  a  personal 
comment  on  the  work,  in  an  undertone  —  so  as  not  to  injure 
the  child's  desire  to  do  well  —  point  out  the  defects  or  have 
him  do  so  if  possible  —  sometimes  placing  an  imperfect 
word  or  letter  on  the  board  on  purpose  to  get  an  expression 
from  the  children  as  to  its  accuracy  or  defect." 

"  How  about  the  more  advanced  classes  ?  " 

"  With  those  who  already  write,  even  though  quite  poorly, 
my  first  work  is  to  get  before  them  a  mental  picture  of  what 
is  right;  teach  them  by  analysis,  and  let  each  one  aim  toward 
his  mental  model,  guiding  and  suggesting  where  necessary." 

"  Do  you  write  a  great  deal,  in  your  ordinary  lessons  ? 
Reading,  history,  spelling,  or  language,  for  instance. 

"  O,  yes ;  a  great  deal.  But  I  never  allow  scribbling. 
Learn  to  write  well  first,  rapidly  afterwards.  I  say  to  the 
children  that  all  can  learn  to  write  beautifully;  that  the  only 
difference  is  the  difference  in  the  amount  and  quality  of 
practice  they  put  upon  it." 

"  Is  it  so,  indeed  ? "  said  Mr.  Johnson.  "  I  had  supposed 
that  some  could  not  learn  to  write  well,  as  some  can  not 
learn  to  read  well." 

"  I  have  never  seen  any  one  who  could  not  learn  to  do 
both,"  replied  Miss  Preston.  "But  in  the  matter  of  writing 
I  think  perhaps  I  do  give  it  more  attention  than  some,  for  I 
have  found  its  advantages  to  be  so  great;  and  I  encourage 
the  pupils  to  take  great  pains  in  the  formation  of  each  letter, 
even  when  writing  from  dictation.  '  Keep  your  thoughts 
ahead  of  your  pen  ' — is  a  help  to  most  of  them." 


THOUGHT  AHEAD   OF   THE  PEN.  12, 

"  You  are  at  least  logical  and  successful  in  your  methods, 
Miss  Preston,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  "and  I  am  gratified  at  the 
results  of  your  work,  and  grateful  for  your  illustration  of 
your  methods." 

This  was  the  voice  of  us  all  —  and  while  much  more  was 
said  privately  to  little  groups  and  knots  of  interested  teachers 
who  gathered  about  her  when  "meeting  broke  up,"  enough 
has  been  said  to  give  you  an  outline  of  her  ways  of  teaching 
penmanship. 

Hoping  it  may  be  helpful,  I  remain, 

Yours,  in  the  general  cause, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


122  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXIV. 
OVERWORK   IN   SCHOOL. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  23,  188-. 
MR. ,  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

My  Dear  Sir : — Coming  together  a  little  early  at  our  last 
meeting,  a  few  of  us  found  Mr.  Johnson  and  Miss  Preston 
eagerly  discussing  something  of  evident  importance,  for 
each  was  oblivious  of  all  else. 

Rising  soon  after  our  entrance,  Mr.  Johnson  said : 

"  Well,  Miss  Preston,  we  will  have  the  matter  brought 
before  the  '  common  council '  to-day.  I  am  only  sorry  you 
have  not  mentioned  it  before." 

"  It  has  troubled  me  somewhat  ever  since  I  have  been 
here,"  she  said,  with  a  shadow  of  hesitation  in  her  voice; 
"  but  as  a  teacher  I  was  not  in  the  best  position  to  remedy 
it  —  besides  being  a  little  uncertain  that  it  might  not  be 
largely  a  matter  of  fancy  at  first ;  but  as  your  assistant  I 
have  had  more  and  better  opportunities  to  study  cause  and 
effect,  and  I  am  convinced  that  both  teachers  and  pupils 
undergo  too  much  strain  during  a  large  part  of  the  year." 

The  meeting  was  now  called  to  order  by  our  Superin- 
tendent, who  presided  that  day,  and  after  the  usual  "open- 
ing ceremonies,"  he  said,  with  some  feeling: 

"  I  have  had  a  matter  laid  before  me  to-day  which  gives 
me  great  surprise  and  real  anxiety.  I  have  never  thought 


0  VER  WORK. 


123 


much  about  it,  but  believe  that  it  may  be  true  that  the 
number  of  hours  spent  in  school  and  school  work,  daily, 
is  too  great  for  both  teachers  and  students,  and  that  the 
curriculum  should  be  abbreviated,  or  the  period  for  its  pas- 
sage be  prolonged.  I  would  like  to  hear  from  each  of  you 
on  the  subject,  and  freely." 

We  were  a  little  astonished,  to  put  it  mildly,  and  for  a  few 
minutes  no  one  spoke.  Then  Miss  Smith  broke  the  silence, 
by  saying  in  her  peculiar  way: 

"  I'm  glad  somebody  has  begun  the  agitation  of  the  waters, 
for  the  subject  has  been  a  sore  one  to  me  for  some  time. 
Last  year  Mollie  Arnold  had  to  be  kept  out  of  school  a  third 
of  the  year,  because  of  her  headaches;  Nettie  Hurlburt's 
eyes  became  so  bad  that  she  had  to  wear  glasses;  and  Clin- 
ton Brundage  had  to  leave  school  altogether.  This  year  it 
is  no  better;  head  troubles,  eyes,  or  something,  one  right 
after  the  other,  until  I  have  sometimes  been  led  to  wonder 
if  a  common  school  education  is  worth  all  it  costs,  any  way." 

"I  am  sure  it  isn't  in  some  cases,"  said  Miss  Preston,  "  for 
when  a  boy  or  girl  comes  out  of  school  with  impaired  health, 
narrow  chest,  '  stoop '  shoulders,  defective  eyesight,  or  bad 
digestion,  as  the  result  of  overwork,  all  the  '  sheepskins '  in 
the  universe  will  not  compensate  for  the  loss." 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  "  and  if  the  same  daily  grind 
has  overtaxed  the  teachers  who  should  be  living  examples 
of  physical  culture  as  well  as  mental  training,  the  results  are 
indeed  deplorable,  and  can  not  be  too  heartily  condemned." 

"  What  do  you  propose  doing  ? "  queried  Mr.  Brown. 
Now  he  is  not  one  on  whom  the  duties  of  a  teacher  will 
ever  rest  with  undue  weight.  He  is  very  considerate  of 
himself,  and  is  likely  to  outlive  his  day  and  generation,  at 


124 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


least.  He  may  not  be  actually  lazy,  but  he  has  the  quality 
of  inertia  remarkably  well  developed. 

"We  are  just  thinking  of  that  part  of  the  evil,"  Mr.  John- 
son responded,  seriously  and  thoughtfully.  "  If  we  could 
close  school  a  little  earlier  each  day,  and  all  spend  that  time 
out  of  doors  whenever  possible,  and  in  some  active  work 
any  way,  it  might  help." 

"We  should  have  to  drop  some  of  the  studies  then,"  said 
Miss  Wheeler,  "  for  there's  only  time  enough  now  to  give  each 
branch  a  cursory  sort  of  teaching,  and  that  sort  of  teaching 
doesn't  last." 

"No,"  said  Miss  Preston,  "and  it  is  bad  all  around.  The 
innocent  victims  of  this  overworked  system  get  a  smatter- 
ing of  things  beyond  their  comprehension,  learn  almost 
nothing  thoroughly,  and  get  into  slovenly  habits  of  thought 
and  study  that  incapacitates  them  for  the  real  work  of  life. 
We  attempt  too  much,  and  we  stuff,  cram,  and  overwork 
children  and  teachers,  until  they  come  to  look,  act,  and  feel 
jaded  nine  tenths  of  the  time ;  and  this  condition  is  not 
compatible  with  the  best  mental  effort." 

"  I  hardly  know  what  we  should  leave  off,"  said  Professor 
Lowell,  with  hesitation. 

"  Miss  Preston  has  shown  us  how  we  may  gain  some  time 
in  the  teaching  of  geography,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  "  and  I 
dare  say  she  can  suggest  other  places  where  we  waste  time 
that  might  be  used  to  advantage,"  and  he  looked  at  her 
inquiringly. 

"  I  think,  perhaps,  we  shall  get  at  the  root  of  the  matter 
most  easily  by  ascertaining  what  is  the  object,  grasp,  or 
scope  of  our  curriculum,"  she  suggested.  "  It  embraces 
mathematics  enough  to  turn  out  automatic  book-keepers 


CURRICULUM. 


125 


and  clerks.  It  takes  in  several  languages,  double  that  num- 
ber of  exact  sciences,  several  '  arts  '  and  the  '  three  R's  ' — 
besides  other  things  '  too  numerous  to  mention,'  as  the 
circus  bills  say.  These  are  all  good,  and  each  may  find  all 
that  he  needs  for  a  practical  life ;  but  our  mistake  is  in  an 
indiscriminate  pouring  the  contents  of  each  of  these  'vials 
of  wrath  '  down  the  throat  of  each,  instead  of  adapting  the 
dose  to  the  sufferer." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  Miss  Howe. 

"Why,  here's  Thomas,  with  a  mother  to  support,  two 
younger  sisters  and  one  brother,  all  waiting  until  he  can  do 
the  work  of  an  accountant  in  Mr.  Slocum's  bank,  where  he 
has  the  promise  of  a  permanent  place  if  he  becomes  a  good 
penman,  quick  at  figures,  and  an  idea  of  commercial  corres- 
pondence. Having  undertaken  to  educate  him,  and  map 
out  his  course  for  him,  we  should  do  so  with  some  reference 
to  his  future  needs ;  but  no,  he  must  go  through  the  regula- 
tion drill  on  vocal  music,  Latin,  and  astronomy,  the  same  as 
though  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  do  it  all,  and  with  no  special 
reason  for  extra  work  in  his  line. 

Again ;  Mary  has  no  liking,  no  taste,  and  no  reason  for 
studying  cube  root,  surveyor's  measure,  or  apothecaries' 
weight,  for  her  young  soul  is  all  on  fire  with  the  genius  of 
Art.  She  loves  drawing,  and  has  'form'  largely  developed 
in  her  phrenological  make-up,  but  we  keep  her  pegging  away 
at  bank  discount,  equation  of  payments,  algebra  and  other 
things  equally  foreign  to  her  aim.  She  has  a  right  to  choose 
from  the  curriculum,  or  to  have  chosen  for  her,  what  will 
point  toward  her  object.  Helen,  who  means  to  teach,  and 
has  a  fondness  for  language  and  literature,  ought  not  to  be 
compelled  to  tie  herself  down  to  physics  or  metaphysics,  if 
she  must  make  her  living  by  what  she  learns  at  school." 


126  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

"  There  is  truth  in  what  you  say,"  observed  Mr.  Wheeler, 
"and  I  have  often  wondered,  if  we  were  called  upon  to 
define  the  object  of  our  work,  what  we  would  say." 

"Several  of  the  best  years  of  life  are  given  up  by  the 
student,"  pursued  Miss  Preston,  "and  he  becomes  fagged 
physically,  and  we  surely  ought  to  look  for  splendid  mental 
attainments,  in  part  compensation  for  what  has  been  lost 
otherwise  ;  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  we  shall  look  in 
vain,  and  at  the  end  of  the  'course,'  instead  of  presenting  to 
the  world  one  who  is  symmetrically  developed  physically, 
mentally,  and  morally,  armed  and  equipped  for  the  battle 
before  him,  we  too  often  give  a  semi-invalid  with  a  mass  of 
indefinite  knowledge  floating  around  somewhere  at  loose 
ends  in  his  brain,  unavailable  because  of  its  vagueness,  and 
often  worthless." 

"  What  can  we  do  ?  "  This  came  somewhat  despondently 
from  Miss  Miller. 

"Weed  the  curriculum.  Shorten  the  school  hours.  Teach 
individuals  instead  of  classes,  wherever  possible.  Give  some 
time  to  physical  culture,  social,  and  moral  training.  Find 
out,  if  possible,  somewhere  near  the  child's  probable  future, 
and  lead  him  up  to  it." 

"  That  would  necessitate  more  overwork  among  the 
teachers  than  the  present  way,  would  it  not  ? "  inquired  Mr. 
Brown. 

"  I  think  not.  By  reason  of  the  shortened  hours  of  labor 
the  teachers  would  be  capable  of  accomplishing  more  in  a 
given  length  of  time  and  yet  would  have  leisure  to  recuper- 
ate from  their  state  of  exhaustion.  As  it  is  now,  by  reason 
of  reports,  examination  papers,  class  books,  records,  etc., 
the  teacher  '  drudges  '  as  much  as  the  overworked  pupil.  I 


LATE  HOURS. 


127 


know,"  she  went  on,  smiling,  "  that  much  of  what  is  com- 
plained of  as  overwork  in  school  is  really  overwork  out  of 
school.  A  boy  or  a  girl  is  up  late  at  night  several  times 
during  the  week,  and  after  a  time  headaches  begin  and 
'overwork'  is  the  cry,  when  it  should  be  'late  hours.'  But 
there  is  a  show  of  reason,  at  least,  in  the  complaints  that  are 
taking  shape  and  being  presented  almost  daily." 

"  Before  we  come  together  again  we  will  see  if  our  idea  can 
not  be  made  useful  in  revising  our  plans,"  said  Mr.  Johnson 
—  and  we  parted  with  some  new  ideas  rolling  over  and  over 
in  our  heads. 

More  anon,  from 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


128  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXV. 
SPELLING. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  22,  188-. 
MY  DEAR  SUPERINTENDENT  : 

Our  last  familiar  talk  was  on  the  time  worn  and  time 
honored  topic  of  "Spelling,"  and  it  was  really  interesting. 

"I  have  been  having  an  old  fashioned  spelling  school," 
said  Miss  Butler,  with  a  laugh,  as  she  seated  herself. 

"  How  did  you  manage  it  ? "  queried  Miss  Preston,  with 
interest. 

"  Quite  in  the  old  fashioned  way.  I  selected  two  '  cap- 
tains'  who  'chose  sides  '  and  spelled  against  each  other." 

"You  pronounced  the  words?"  inquiringly. 

"  O,  yes.  And  no  one  could  try  but  once,  on  any  word. 
If  he  misses  it  goes  across  to  the  other  side,  the  'fallen 
soldier '  sitting  down  as  soon  as  he  misses,  his  '  opposite ' 
catching  it  if  possible  —  if  not,  he  too  goes  down." 

"  It  gets  to  be  quite  exciting,  does  it  not  ? "  asked  Miss 
Preston. 

"Yes,  indeed  it  does." 

"  Have  you  ever  spelled  against  your  whole  school  ? "  she 
inquired  again. 

"  No.     I  never  thought  of  that.     Have  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  many  times.  I  let  some  one  who  can  pronounce 
distinctly,  and  who  does  not  need  the  practice  in  spelling  as 


A  PLA  Y-SPELL. 


129 


much  as  the  others,  pronounce  the  words  and  I  spell  every 
alternate  word." 

"  But,  Miss  Preston,  I  thought  you  did  not  believe  in  oral 
spelling,"  said  Mr.  Whipple. 

"  Nor  do  I,  as  a  rule.  As  we  usually  use  spelling  only 
when  writing,  I  have  the  lessons  written  in  the  every  day 
practice.  But  I  have  found  it  a  good  thing  to  review  quite 
frequently,  and  this  I  often  make  a  sort  of  play-spell  ( no 
pun)  as  Miss  Butler  seems  to  have  been  doing.  It  prevents 
the  sometimes  dread  of  review  day,  and  spurs  to  thorough 
work ;  for  in  a  '  play '  of  this  sort  every  one's  weakness  in 
orthography  is  made  manifest,  while  in  the  ordinary  lesson 
routine  only  the  child  who  misses  and  myself  are  cognizant 
of  his  faults." 

"  How  is  that?  "  queried  Miss  Sigourney. 

"  The  slates  are  passed  to  me  for  examination,"  responded 
Miss  Preston. 

"  Will  you  tell  us  how  you  conduct  a  spelling  lesson  ? " 
asked  Mr.  Wheeler. 

"With  pleasure.  Having  everything  in  readiness,  I  pro- 
nounce 'One '  (to  correspond  with  the  figure  already  on  the 
slates)  and  then  give  a  word  to  go  with  it.  Should  any  one 
fail  to  understand  the  word,  a  hand  is  raised  to  indicate  this, 
when  I  again  pronounce  it,  and  go  to  No.  two.  When  the 
last  word  is  written,  each  writer  signs  his  name  below  his 
work,  dates  it,  and  the  slates  are  gathered  up  in  order  from 
each  aisle,  by  a  '  waiter '  chosen  for  the  week,  and  placed  on 
my  desk  for  my  inspection.  I  then  announce  the  next  lesson 
and  my  pupils  study  that  while  I  look  over  the  lesson  just 
finished,  underscoring  the  misspelled  words  on  each  slate, 
after  which  the  slates  are  again  distributed,  the  '  misses ' 
9 


I30 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


corrected  by  those  who  have  made  them,  and  that  lesson  is 
considered  done." 

"  Do  you  mark  a  word  '  missed '  if  the  penmanship  is 
illegible  ?  "  inquired  Professor  Lowell. 

"  Always.  And  not  only  that,  but  I  do  so  if  it  is  merely 
ambiguous,  a  u  for  an  «,  an  undotted  i  or  an  uncrossed  / 
being  an  error  that  in  a  legal  paper  might  be  of  importance; 
and  I  aim  to  teach  accuracy  in  even  the  most  trifling  details, 
as  I  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  qualifications 
for  any  position  in  life." 

"Good,"  assented  Mr.  Johnson;  "but,  Miss  Preston,  I 
have  heard  that  you  teach  spelling  much  as  you  do  language 
—  with  and  by  means  of  every  other  lesson.  Is  this  true  ?  " 

"  To  a  certain  extent,  yes.  If  I  assign  a  lesson  in  arith- 
metic, I  want  to  teach  observation  at  the  same  time  I  teach 
mathematics;  and  the  habit  is  a  good  one  to  cultivate.  I  do 
this  so  regularly  that  it  comes  to  be  looked  upon  as  part  of 
the  play,  and  no  lesson  is  considered  fully  learned  if  there's 
any  orthographical  difficulty  unmastered." 

"  Do  you  use  a  text  book,  or  ' speller,'  at  all? "  asked  Miss 
Smith. 

"  Yes.  I  have  found  Swinton's  '  Word  Book,'  or  something 
similar,  helpful  for  a  set  lesson;  and  then  we  sometimes 
make  our  own  lesson,  I  suggesting  a  topic,  and  the  children 
pronouncing  the  words  connected  with  this  topic  which  they 
do  not  know  how  to  spell.  These  words  I  write  on  the 
blackboard  and  leave  until  the  time  for  the  next  recitation, 
then  use  the  copy  which  I  have  had  made  —  instead  of  the 
book  —  and  proceed  as  before." 

"  Do  you  ever  spell  around,  marking  the  words  that  are 
missed,  and  afterwards  announcing  them  ? "  asked  Miss 
Wheeler. 


VARIATIONS.  131 

"  I  never  have.     How  do  you  manage  ?  " 

"Simply  pronounce  so  many  words  to  each  pupil.  He 
spells  each  one,  only  trying  once,  you  keeping  the  record 
but  not  announcing  the  result  until  the  close  of  the  lesson." 

"I  should  think  it  would  make  a  pleasant  variety." 

"  It  does,  and  it  has  this  recommendation;  no  one  has  any 
advantage  over  the  other.  For  instance :  in  Miss  Butler's 
'  spelling  school,'  if  a  word  comes  up  where  it  must  be  spelled 
in  one  of  two  ways,  and  the  first  speller  misses  it,  the  '  oppo- 
site '  knows  how  it  must  go  and  gains  by  what  the  other  lost." 

"I  see,"  said  Miss  Preston.  "There  are  many  ways  to 
relieve  the  study  of  monotony  and  save  it  from  being  merely 
a  memory  lesson.  And  that  reminds  me.  As  soon  as  a  child 
can  understand  the  simplest  rules  I  have  them  learned,  and 
then  give  them  examples  under  each  rule,  so  that  the  chil- 
dren can  apply  what  they  learn." 

"  Spelling  has  always  seemed  like  such  an  arbitrary  thing 
that  I've  never  made  the  most  of  it,  I  think,"  sighed  Miss 
Wood. 

"  It  may  be  invested  with  a  great  deal  of  interest,"  said 
Mr.  Johnson,  "  and  I  think  that  by  the  time  we  have  taught  a 
few  more  years  with  an  inspiration  to  do  our  best  and  make 
the  most  of  our  opportunities  and  material,  we  shall  better 
know  how  to  do  even  so  simple  a  thing  as  to  teach  spelling 
to  the  best  advantage  and  with  a  view  to  the  final  results." 

So  say  we  all,  and  God  speed  the  day  when  more  of  our 
number  awake  to  a  realization  of  what  they,  and  others 
through  them,  are  missing. 

With  best  wishes,  I  remain, 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


132  PXESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXVI. 
READING. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  February  25,  188-. 
MR. Supt.,  etc. 

Since  our  talk  on  Reading  I  have  been  putting  into  prac- 
tice some  of  the  ideas  I  got  that  day.  I  have  lately  been 
troubled  that  our  public  school  is  training  such  poor  readers, 
and  \vhile  lamenting  the  fact  and  wondering  at  its  probable 
cause  I  have  been  too  busy  to  solve  the  problem. 

Said  Mr.  Johnson  at  the  opening: 

"  I  hope  there  will  be  a  freedom  in  this  discussion,  for 
reading  is  one  of  the  really  essential  things  that  seem  to  be 
in  more  or  less  danger  of  neglect." 

Which  is  somewhat  true ;  for  with  the  advent  of  so  many 
new  ideas  as  to  what  should  be  taught,  our  time  has  been  so 
filled  that  we  have  read  less  in  our  classes  than  we  did 
twenty  years  ago,  when  every  pupil  read  aloud  four  times  a 
day. 

Miss  Wheeler  ventured  the  first  remark : 

"  If  no  one  has  formulated  the  especial  features  of  com- 
plaint, perhaps  we  had  better  inquire  first  as  to  what 
appears  to  be  the  matter." 

"  I  can  tell  of  one  trouble,  at  least,"  said  Professor  Lowell. 
"  The  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  come  into  my  classes 
do  not  average  to  read  as  well  as  children  should  at  twelve 


FAULTY  READING. 


133 


years  of  age  ;  and  I  know  that  many  of  them  leave  the  High 
School  without  the  ability  to  read,  at  sight,  an  ordinary 
newspaper  or  magazine  article.  Several  days  since  I  was 
invited  down  to  Mrs.  Hanchett's  to  dinner,  and  Lizzie 
picked  up  the  evening  paper  and  read  a  few  items  in  a 
shockingly  bad  way,  and  with  apparently  no  concern  at  her 
awkwardness  with  the  Queen's  English.  Her  mother  and 
her  college  brother  were  painfully  apparent  of  her  short- 
comings, but  she  seemed  to  think  that  she  acquitted  herself 
creditably." 

"  That  is  one  bad  thing  about  it,"  said  Miss  IngersolL 
"  The  fault  is  so  prevalent  that  no  one  feels  isolated  because 
of  poor  reading.  Lizzie  reads  as  well  as  Harry,  Emma, 
James,  and  Ellen,  in  the  same  class  ;  and  as  she  seldom 
hears  any  one  else  read  how  should  she  know  that  her  work 
is  below  par  ?" 

"  That  remark  suggests  a  hint  of  one  step  toward  better 
work,"  said  Miss  Preston  "  We  can  each  furnish  a  good 
model  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  and  as  children  are  quick 
to  imitate  and  to  see  and  discriminate,  they  will  be  benefited 
every  time  they  hear  really  good  reading." 

" True,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.  "Cannot  each  of  you  name 
some  special  fault  which  you  have  observed  in  class  or  in- 
dividual, and  then  suggest  a  remedy  for  it  ?" 

"  I  have  noticed,"  said  Miss  Wheeler,  "  that  many  of  my 
youngest  pupils  drawl  their  words.  They  even  stumble  over 
very  simple  words,  such  as  I  felt  sure  at  first  they  must  be 
familiar  with.  By  experimenting,  however,  I  found  that  this 
was  not  so;  that  the  real  difficulty  lay  just  here :  that  as  soon 
as  a  child  was  familiar  with  the  shape  of  a  word  he  would  not 
drawl  nor  hesitate  in  its  pronunciation  ;  so  I  began  bringing 


t34  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

them  into  frequent  contact  with  words.  I  found  that  they  had 
tired  of  their  readers,  and  while  they  were  familiar  with  the 
4  pieces '  and  could  'read '  any  or  each  paragraph  as  a  whole 
—  having  heard  the  thing  daily,  perhaps  —  the  words  were 
as  strangers  to  them  ;  so  I  put  them  to  work  in  a  new  way  : 
reading  backwards.  By  so  doing  they  could  not  tell  when 
they  had  pronounced  one  word,  what  would  come  next, 
until  they  learned  the  next  word." 

"Has  the  result  been  satisfactory  ?"  asked  Mr.  Johnson. 

"  Very.  They  are  getting  a  somewhat  extended  vocabu- 
lary of  words  which  they  know;  and  when  they  know  a  word 
they  can  call  it  by  name  when  they  see  it,  and  that  without 
trouble." 

"I  have  used  that  plan  myself,"  said  Miss  Preston,  "and 
with  even  older  boys  and  girls.  Sight-reading  is  not  com- 
mon enough  even  among  our  older  pupils.  But  the  trouble 
which  I  have  observed  in  visiting  the  different  schools  is  of 
an  entirely  different  nature.  I  have  noticed  very  rapid 
reading;  even  passages  of  great  tenderness,  pathos  or  sub- 
limity being  in  about  6-8  time.  I  have  asked  one  or  two 
such  classes  that  have  come  under  my  observation  to  read 
in  concert.  This  gives  a  chance  for  the  very  slow  ones  to 
accelerate  their  speed,  while  those  who  read  too  rapidly  are 
held  in  check  by  the  'volume  of  voice."' 

"I  have  found  no  trouble  with  my  classes."  said  Mr. 
Wheeler,  "  when  reading  from  their  reading  books ;  but  if  I 
asked  any  of  them  to  read  tomorrow's  history,  geometry  or 
botany  lesson,  I  was  always  sure  to  find  them  in  the  quick- 
sand. So  I  have  been  using  newspapers,  magazines,  etc., 
for  extra  supplies ;  and  have  asked  each  to  bring  something 
of  interest  to  read  to  all." 


DIFFICULTIES.  !35 

"  That  word  interest  covers  a  multitude  of  help,"  laughed 
Miss  Preston.  "  You  will  never  have  trouble  in  securing 
listeners,  nor  in  teaching  reading,  if  you  can  hold  their 
interest.  The  newspaper  work  is  a  good  idea." 

"I  was  in  a  school  recently,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  "where 
the  teacher  was  reading  a  story  to  her  school,  and  every 
time  she  came  to  a  word  with  which  anyone  was  not  famil- 
iar, a  hand  was  raised  to  indicate  the  same,  and  they  had 
a  good  time  word-hunting." 

"  I  have  done  that  myself,"  said  Miss  Wood.  "  Some- 
times, to  vary  the  exercise,  I  have  had  one  of  the  pupils 
read  for  me  when  we  were  having  a  recreation  of  this  sort." 

"  I  have  found  one  trouble,"  said  I;  "  the  children  drop 
out  little  words  and  do  not  seem  to  realize  it.  They  do  not 
seem  much  concerned  to  get  at  the  sense  of  what  they  read. 
So  I  have  'played  school'  sometimes,  reading  a  paragraph 
as  they  do,  asking  them  to  watch  for  errors  and  call  atten- 
tion to  .hem." 

"  I  have  had  them  do  that  with  each  other,  to  a  somewhat 
limited  extent,"  said  Miss  Smith,  "and  for  the  same  pur- 
pose; I  also  sometimes  let  them  read  until  they  make  a 
mistake,  the  first  who  notices  the  mistake  taking  the  next 
turn.  That  serves  to  keep  them  alert,  and  it  holds  their 
interest  at  least  while  it  lasts." 

"  A  good  plan,"  said  Mr.  Johnson  ;  u  and  I  think  I  know 
of  one  good  reason  at  least  for  poor  reading  among  the 
older  pupils  —  want  of  practice.  This  comes  sometimes 
because  none  of  the  household  is  interested  in  developing 
good  readers  sufficiently  to  listen  to  Thomas's  rendition  of 
the  President's  message,  or  to  Mary's  scrabbling  through  a 
report  of  the  latest  concert.  Young  America  is  taught  to 


136  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

be  seen  and  not  heard,  so  Young  America  reads  in  silence 
when  he  should  be  reading  aloud." 

"  Too  true,"  said  Miss  Preston  ;  "  and  what  is  true  of 
pupils  is  true  in  only  a  lesser  degree  of  us.  We  read  aloud 
too  little,  and  we  do  not  often  enough  listen  to  good  read- 
ing. We  grow  careless,  and  our  own  habits  are  reflected  in 
our  pupils  ;  and  if  we  begin  a  reform  we  must  begin  at 
home  and  work  outward." 

"Activity  of  mind,  a  thought  of  the  author's  meaning,  a 
putting  of  the  child  en  rapport,  if  possible,  with  the  article  to 
be  read,  by  a  few  timely  questions,  a  few  judicious  remarks, 
will  go  far  toward  helping  expression,"  said  Mr.  Johnson. 
"  We  must  teach  them  that  we  cannot  express  what  we  do  not 
truly  feel ;  and  we  can  not  feel  what  we  do  not  understand." 

"  That  is  one  thing  about  many  of  the  reading  books  of 
to-day,"  said  Miss  Preston  ;  "  most  of  them  are  down  to  the 
level  of  the  child's  capacity.  A  few  years  ago  this  was  dif- 
ferent ;  and  the  child  who  '  went  through  '  a  set  of  the  old 
readers  not  only  tired  of  trying  to  grasp  what  was  away 
beyond  his  comprehension,  but  was  made  ridiculous  by  so 
doing.  Now  science  is  made  attractive,  poems  of  merit  are 
found  expressed  in  a  language  that  even  children  can  com- 
prehend, and  history  tells  marvelous  stories  of  thrilling 
interest,  and  yet  in  words  that  the  juvenile  mind  can  grasp." 

"  My  classes  are  interested  just  now  in  English  history," 
said  Mr.  Brown  ;  "  so  we  have  had  as  many  authors  on  our 
table  as  possible,  and  when  a  fact  of  interest  has  been  ascer- 
tained we  have  read  from  the  different  books,  impromptu  ; 
and  I  can  see,  although  it  is  less  than  a  month  since  we  began, 
that  it  has  been  a  source  of  improvement." 

"  It  must  have  been,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.     "  I  should  like  to 


A    BAD   START.  ^ 

hear  more  from  some  of  the  Primary  teachers,  for  I  have  an 
idea  that  some  of  the  bad  habits  start  on  the  lowest  round 
of  the  ladder  and  might  be  held  in  check  there.  But  I  see 
that  it  is  time  to  close,  and  we  shall  have  to  wait  for  another 
session." 

We  were  not  ready  to  stop.  We  seldom  are  since  we 
began  to  brim  over  with  our  subjects,  but  I  must  follow  his 
good  example. 

Yonrs  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


138  PRESTON  PAPERS. 


No.  XXVII. 
HOBBIES. 

OLDTOWN,  N.  Y.,  March  15,  188-. 
Hon. ,  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  We  had  a  very  lively  discussion  at  our 
last  meeting,  concerning  our  various  "  Hobbies,"  and  as  I 
may  not  write  again  for  some  months,  I  will  outline  it  in 
brief. 

"I  think,"  said  Mr.  Johnson,  seriously  and  penitently, 
"  that  I  have  been  unfortunate  in  my  own  hobby ;  for  I  have 
placed  System  so  at  the  head  of  all  things  that  great  dam- 
age has  been  done  to  many  of  you  who  have  tried  to  work 
after  my  ideal.  I  am  glad  that  the  change  came  when  it 
did,  and  only  regret  that  it  did  not  come  sooner.  In  pre- 
senting System  as  your  goal,  toward  which  I  asked  you  to 
work,  things  that  were  of  more  importance  were  neglected 
if  not  ignored ;  and  time  was  wasted  in  trying  to  bring  all 
to  one  standard." 

Miss  Wood  said  "  Dignity  seems  to  be  the  hobby  which 
I've  ridden  with  a  high  hand  and  a  tight  rein  until  recently; 
and  yet  somehow  my  dignity  has  n't  preserved  me  from 
attacks  of  various  kinds,,  both  among  my  pupils  and  from 
their  parents.  I,  somehow,  set  out  with  the  idea  that  in 
order  to  keep  a  school  well  under  subjection  one  must  be 
very  dignified  in  bearing,  very  impressive  in  manner.  My 


THE  REAL  AND    THE   SHAM. 


'39 


success  as  a  disciplinarian  has  been  far  from  satisfactory  to 
myself,  and  I  know  that  I  have  not  pleased  my  patrons." 

"Possibly  your  key  note  is  wrong,"  suggested  Miss 
Preston.  "  Perhaps  if,  instead  of  keeping  your  school  well 
under  subjection,  you  had  aimed  to  keep  the  pupils  en  rap- 
port with  you,  you  would  have  had  less  trouble.  I  think 
that  my  hobby  "  Getting  down  to  the  Child,"  has  led  me 
into  errors  of  a  mental  nature,  at  least.  I  may  have  made 
things  too  easy  for  the  child,  in  my  anxiety  not  to  shoot  too 
far  beyond  his  powers.  I  think  there  is  real  danger  in  this, 
and  that  the  mistaken  kindness  of  the  teacher  or  mother 
who  does  too  much  for  a  child  will  rebound,  leaving  the 
child  more  nearly  helpless  than  he  would  have  been  with  a 
more  vigorous  method  or  treatment." 

Miss  Sigourney  was  the  next  to  confess,  and  remarked : 
"  I  believe  that  '  Discipline  '  has  been  my  hobby,  and  that 
I've  been  a  hard  rider.  I  can  see,  in  my  later  work,  that 
the  discipine  that  needs  very  much  muscular  force  is  not 
good  discipline,  and  most  of  mine  has  been  accomplished 
by  means  of  the  rod.  The  word  and  the  idea  have  been 
ever  present,  preventing  many  things  that  would  have  con- 
duced to  the  general  good  ;  and  yet  because  some  things 
might  interfere  with  discipline,  or  might  interrupt  the  dis- 
cipline or  break  it  up,  I  have  said  '  No,'  when  '  Yes  '  would 
have  been  better,  and  when  I  might  thereby  have  shortened 
the  distance  between  my  pupils  and  myself." 

"Just  my  idea,"  resumed  Miss  Wood.  "I  have  come  to 
believe,  at  least  in  my  own  case,  that  the  dignity  that  needs 
bolstering  is  not  real  dignity,  but  a  sham  ;  and  it  may  be  so 
in  regard  to  discipline." 

"  It  is,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.     "  The  discipline  that  needs 


140  PRESTON  PAPERS. 

to  be  talked  about  in  order  that  it  shall  not  remain  in  ob- 
scurity is  not  a  power." 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  said  Miss  Wells,  "  but  that  I  have  been 
carried  away  by  '  Appearances.'  I  have  wanted  my  school 
to  compare  well  with  others  ;  and  I've  made  it  a  sort  of  end 
toward  which  I've  worked  with  a  good  deal  of  zeal,  if  not 
with  wisdom.  Too  much  has  been  sacrificed  for  mere  show 
—  but  I've  quit  my  hobby,  'forever  and  for  aye.' 

"Good  .'"said  Miss  Preston.  "Would  that  more  of  us 
had  the  courage  of  our  convictions  !" 

"Oh,  we're  getting  it,"  said  Mr.  Lowell;  "but  it  takes  a 
while  to  eradicate  the  habits  and  thoughts  of  years,  and 
break  ground  in  entirely  new  soil.  I  believe  that  Laziness 
has  been  my  great  drawback.  I  have  been  too  prone  to  do 
what  would  be  the  least  trouble  now,  regardless  of  the 
future  and  of  consequences.  Laziness  is  an  easy  hobby, 
but  is  likely  to  throw  one  at  the  last/'  and  he  laughed  a  little 
uneasily. 

"Your  experience  is  not  unusual,"  said  Mr.  Johnson. 
"  Few  of  us  realize  until  too  late  that  our  every  day  work 
has  such  a  relation  to  the  future  that  we  ought  to  put  in  our 
best  building  material  at  any  cost." 

I  knew  that  my  turn  was  at  hand,  so  said,  "  I  have  been 
riding  '  Order '  for  my  hobby,  and  so  gallant  has  been  my 
steed  that  for  many  years  I,  like  others,  mistook  the  sham 
for  the  real.  It  is  not  so  very  many  years  since  I  actually 
believed  that  order,  good  order,  consisted  in  having  my 
pupils  work  in  automatic  precision,  speak  in  set  forms,  vary- 
ing not  a  hair's  breadth  in  recitation,  even  if  done  without 
spirit  or  understanding  either.  I  know  better  now,  and  I 
look  back  with  horror  upon  the  machine  work  of  my  earlier 


CONVICTIONS. 


141 


days.  I  don't  know  how  I  got  into  the  groove,  nor  can  I 
see  how  I  stayed  in  it  so  placidly  for  many  years ;  but  this 
I  do  know — that  my  present  teaching  is  a  real  pleasure,  and 
before  it  was  real  drudgery." 

"It  could  hardly  be  otherwise,"  said  Miss  Preston;  "and 
if  it  was  drudgery  to  you,  what  must  it  have  been  to  those 
committed  to  your  care  ?" 

"  O,  I  can  see  it  all  now,"  I  cried;  "  the  only  thing  that 
puzzles  me  at  all  is,  that  I  was  blind  for  so  long." 

"  Selfishness  seems  to  have  been  my  hobby,"  said  Miss 
Miller.  "  I  have  looked  at  everything  from  my  own  stand- 
point, and  have  considered,  in  all  my  school  work,  just  how 
far  such  and  such  a  thing  would  affect  me  —  not  what  would 
-be  its  results  upon  my  school,  but  where  I  might  count 
upon  its  influence.  I  think  it  has  tended  to  make  me  indif- 
ferent toward  the  best  interests  of  my  school,  and  I  regret 
the  loss  of  years  in  which  I  might  have  done  better." 

The  silence  of  conviction  settled  upon  us,  for  who  could 
cast  the  first  stone  at  Miss  Miller  ?  Had  we  not  all  been 
carried  by  this  hobby  for  years  ? 

"  I  think  that  '  Independence '  has  been  the  hobby  on 
which  I've  ambled  at  a  slow  going  trot,"  said  Miss  Smith. 
"  I've  cared  too  little  for  law  and  order,  too  much  for  re- 
sults ;  and  have  ridden  rough  shod  right  over  the  wishes  of 
parents,  superintendents  and  others,  pitting  my  own  judg- 
ment against  that  of  every  one  who  differed  from  me,  as  to 
methods,  manner,  principles  or  what  not.  I  mean  to  defer 
a  little  more  to  the  experience,  observation  and  judgment 
of  others,"  and  she  sat  down  as  vigorously  as  she  had 
spoken. 

Miss  Smith  has  less  to  blame  herself  for  than  most  of  us 


142 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


have,  for  although  she's  quite  likely  to  believe  that  her  way 
is  right  she  has  a  great  deal  of  common  sense,  and  that  has 
helped  her  to  see  through  many  of  the  false  educational 
notions  of  the  day,  and  it  has  kept  her  out  of  much  of  the 
mummery  that  has  been  the  bane  of  the  rest  of  us. 

Mr.  Wheeler  was  the  next  speaker.  "  I  believe  that  the 
1  Practical '  hobby  has  been  mine.  Now  I  think  that  the 
practical  side  of  things  should  be  given  consideration,  a 
great  deal  of  it,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else." 

"  That  is  a  common  fault,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.  "  We  have 
all  been  more  or  less  warped  by  it  I  think,  looking  upon 
things  of  mere  beauty  as  entirely  without  a  mission,  and 
upon  studies  which  had  no  practical  issue  as  being  useless, 
when  really  either  of  these  things  may  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  modifying  our  natures  and  in  making  them 
symmetrical," — all  of  which  is  true,  and  is  now  so  conceded 
by  the  authorities  in  the  educational  world. 

*' Well,"  said  Miss  Bates,  "I  think  I  have  clung  tenaci- 
ously to  '  Custom  '  for  my  hobby.  I  have  been  too  averse 
to  change,  even  when  a  change  would  have  been  best. 
What  I  have  done  and  as  I  have  done  for  years,  has  been 
my  hobby;  and  I've  been  reluctant  even  to  acknowledge 
progress." 

"  Just  contrary  to  my  experience,"  said  Miss  Tngersoll. 
"  I  believe  that  when  I  look  over  my  list  of  delinquences, 
I  shall  find  that  I've  given  whip  and  rein  to  '  Change,'  wel- 
coming anything  that  gave  indications  of  being  something 
new,  like  the  Athenians  of  old.  Let  any  one  suggest  a  new 
method  in  teaching  or  governing  and  I  tried  it,  regardless 
of  the  probable  differences  of  situation,  time,  and  necessi- 
ties. Only  give  me  something  new  to  work  with,  and  I've 


SUGGESTIONS.  I43 

been  happy  in  the  work  —  even  forgetful  of  the  real  aim  of 
the  work." 

"That  is  common  too,"  said  Miss  Preston.  "Only  let 
one  teacher  in  a  given  situation,  and  with  a  given  class, 
4  make  a  hit '  in  presenting  a  subject  and  instantly  the  won- 
derful results  have  been  written  up,  commented  on,  and 
exaggerated,  possibly,  until  everybody  is  on  fire  to  try  the 
same  thing  in  the  same  way  without  reference  to  the  great 
differences  in  teachers,  pupils  and  times.  We  so  lose  our 
individuality  and  injure  our  work." 

"Lecturing  seems  to  have  been  the  mule  that  has  carried 
me,"  said  Mr.  Whipple ;  "  and  I  have  been  so  in  love  with 
the  sound  of  my  own  voice,  apparently,  that  no  opportunity 
to  listen  to  its  music  has  been  lost.  I  think  a  few  words 
'  fitly  spoken '  would  have  been  of  more  weight  than  all  my 
harangues." 

Again  we  were  silenced,  for  few  of  us  but  felt  that  Mr. 
Whipple's  confession  would  do  for  each  of  us. 

"  I  fear  that  my  hobby  has  been  worse  than  any  yet  men- 
tioned," said  Miss  Sherwood,  with  a  scarlet  spot  burning 
upon  each  cheek.  "  I  think  now,  in  retrospect,  that  '  Men- 
ace' has  entered  into  my  school  work  at  every  opening.  My 
school  has  been  under  the  shadow  of  a  threat  of  some  kind 
from  September  until  June  every  year — but  it  never  shall 
be  again.  A  threat  is  at  best  a  weak  weapon,  and  I  hope 
never  to  be  guilty  of  its  use." 

"Perhaps  we  had  better  all  revise  our  decalogues,"  said 
Mr.  Johnson;  "and  instead  of  '  Thou  shalt  not,'  substitute 
'  Let  us  try  not.'  There  is  a  principle  within  us  that  can  be 
reached  by  an  appeal  to  our  better  selves;  but  its  opposite 
comes  to  the  top  whenever  a  thing  is  absolutely  forbidden, 


144 


PRESTON  PAPERS. 


especially  if  there's  a  penalty  attached.  And  right  here  I 
would  suggest  that  we  study  Nature  more.  Let  us  study 
ourselves  and  our  pupils,  finding  out  the  weaknesses  and 
defects  of  the  one,  while  we  look  up  the  necessities  of  the 
other.  Let  us  profit  not  only  by  our  own  experience,  but 
by  that  of  our  associates.  Let  us  look  below  the  surface  of 
our  teaching  and  see  how  much  of  it  and  what  part  is  likely 
to  take  root;  and  if  what  we  have  done  is  not  the  very  best 
that  might  have  been,  let  us  not  be  too  proud  to  begin  again 
in  a  new  way,  with  a  higher  ideal  before  us,  a  more  definite 
plan  as  to  reaching  it." 

This  seemed  to  be  the  Amen  point;  and  here  I  leave  it, 
only  expressing  the  wish  that  it  may  be  of  as  great  use  to 
others  as  it  has  to 

Yours  Truly, 

Miss  PRESTON'S  ASSISTANT. 


j»  • " 


me  allowed  a<      f;      ,  a. 

i-V^^Pt       .same  Ith 
J  «  teac  ...  ^  or  a  special :1.^ 
is  book  is  kept  overtim 
ay  will  be  charged.     If  se- 
ine and  tvv«' 


